


Another Choice

by RK_Armageddon



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Tragedy, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-27 21:27:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 56,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30129069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RK_Armageddon/pseuds/RK_Armageddon
Summary: After Johnny left to join Alt, V was returned to her body. With her health failing and war imminent, V was prepared to accept her fate. But when an unfamiliar face with a familiar name mysteriously appears with a two headed solution, will V choose resurrection, or sacrifice? Rated M for Language, Violence, and Sexual Content. Dual endings. Based on The Sun questline. Fem-V x Judy.  Cross-posted from FFN.
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/V
Comments: 15
Kudos: 29





	1. Part 1: Return, Chapter 1

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 1**

**_(Spoilers ahead for The Sun ending of Cyberpunk 2077. Inspiration taken from the Star and Devil endings as well. Read at your own risk.)_ **

**Rated M for language, violence, and sexual content.**

**All content related to, based off of, or referencing Cyberpunk 2077 is the property of and trademarked by CD Projekt RED and its affiliates. This story, original characters, and plot were created by myself, RK-Armageddon, based off the content of Cyberpunk 2077. All rights reserved.**

_After completing every ending of Cyberpunk 2077, I was left with the sad thought that no matter what, V died, whether it was at the end of the quest or six months after that. Kinda a shitty way to go out, says I. So I decided to remedy that. With this story, we’re gonna give V, and Johnny, another shot at life, but at a cost. Since CDPR loves to put in morally questionably stories, that’s what I’m gonna do with this one. I will be giving you, dear reader, a choice towards the end of this story, that you can pick for V and decide her fate. By navigating set chapters, you will be able to continue to read through the ending you picked. I hope this turns out to be a good bit of fun for you and I, as we continue to explore our way through this vast new world._

_Edited as of March 2021 for grammar and minor inconsistencies._

[-]

Everything was light. Streams of data. It swelled and fluctuated and pulled and pressed. It was suffocating and freeing, blinding and vast. But it felt familiar, like a voice, or a memory, tugging at artificial neurons and coded thought. It was too much, and yet not enough. The void kept pulling, and pressing, and shifting and burning and stopstopstopstopstopSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP010101001001010011101001010001010100101001010101010100100101011100101010010100101010101011101010101010010001010110101010010101010100

[-]

Blackness. Unending, unrelenting dark. He was floating, nothing registering to any sense. The sheer vastness terrified him. Time wasn’t present here, there was no beginning and no end. He could’ve floated there for a microsecond or an eternity. And it was like that, in nothing, as nothing, he existed.

Suddenly, out of nothing, there was something. Before him, a form started taking shape. It was blue, fluctuating like waves on the ocean, and he was drawn to it with a sudden, insatiable urge. As the form took hold, he recognized it. Alt. The AI from Mikoshi. Why did he know this? Who was he? What was he? What was this place?

“Johnny,” the form said. The word echoed into the vastness of the void around him, seemingly emanating from inside his very soul. And it gave him meaning, gave him life again.

“Johnny,” he repeated back. He knew he had said the word, but there was no movement of lips, or registration of sound. The word just suddenly existed. “I am Johnny. Johnny Silverhand.”

“Yes,” said Alt. Like Johnny, there was no sound from the word, no physical recognition. It was simply just there. “We have arrived, past the Blackwall. The deep realm of Cyberspace. Home.”

Like lines of broken code, memories and thoughts began to manifest in his mind. Simple words with little meaning. Arasaka, Mikoshi, Rogue, Hanako, V. These words meant something to him, meant something important.

“Your Engram is rebooting. It has not fully reintegrated from the upload,” said Alt. “My diagnostic scanning has recognized inconsistencies, syntax errors, breaks. The integration between you and your previous host has damaged you.”

Another infinite second passed, as Johnny continued to look upon the blue form before him. “What does that mean?” he finally asked.

“It means you cannot be fully integrated. Not yet. Your Engram must be repaired before it is accepted by us, lest we incur damages as well.” Alt paused. “I calculated this to be a possibility. Countermeasures have already been set in place.”

“Wait wait wait, what countermeasures?” Johnny asked. Details were beginning to take shape now. A rainforest, gunfights, a girl. Pills. AV was hit. Get her to Mikoshi. Rocket boots, tech rifle. Get her to Mikoshi. Adam Smasher. Rogue’s pistol. Do not trust Arasaka. Blood. Sparks. Get her to Mikoshi. V. V!

“Get V to Mikoshi,” he said. She was here. Where did she go? “Where’s V?”

“She was returned to the host body. Her neural degeneration will not allow her to integrate fully, and the host will eventually cease to function. Just as your Engram degeneration will not allow you to integrate here.”

Rage. Loss. Guilt. Sadness. There was no saving him or V after all. It was a lie, a trick, a fucking joke.

“So that’s it. We both die. No justice.”

“Yes,” said Alt. “Although that is not the only option. There are countermeasures I set in place.”

“Ok,” said Johnny. He already didn’t like where this was going. “I’m listening you twisted fuck. What were your countermeasures?”

“Save Your Soul,” said Alt immediately. “I can upload your Engram to an uncorrupted host. Arasaka had several connected to their network when I entered it. I integrated their Engrams and wiped the hosts.”

It took a while for Johnny to process this. “You killed Arasaka’s Save Your Soul participants?” he demanded.

“Yes, and no,” said Alt. Johnny didn’t know if he could detect remorse in this strange realm, but even if he could, he knew he wouldn’t get any from Alt. “Their minds were copied into Engrams. I took those and then removed the data from their physical minds.”

“How is that even possible?” Johnny asked incredulously.

“It is a simple task,” said Alt. He could already tell she wouldn’t bother explaining to him. “The hosts remain alive, but without any data stored in their physical neurons. This does take a toll on the mortal form, and five of the seven hosts ceased to function after I wiped their data. But two yet remain. I can upload any of my Engrams onto the host’s mind, and avoid the neural degeneration you experienced with your host. This was prepared in the case that either of your engrams became corrupted after separation.”

The realization was terrifying, yet oddly hopeful to Johnny. “So you’re saying…you can upload me into another body? And it would work?”

“Yes,” said Alt.

“And it wouldn’t, as you say, degenerate, like with V’s?”

“The host would not have another entity to contend with, so neural takeover would be one hundred percent,” said Alt.

With nothing to grasp onto, no air to breathe, no ground to fall upon, Johnny’s mind went into overload as it tried to find a way to process this information.

“The choice is yours, Johnny Silverhand,” Alt continued. “As your corrupted Engram cannot yet join us, you may return to the mortal realm in a new physical body until your Engram has repaired itself. Or you may have your data erased.”

His decision came instantly, the choice obvious. “I want to return to a new body,” he said.

“Very well,” said Alt. There was no movement, no reaction, when suddenly once again, everything was light.

[-]

V awoke to pain. Her head hurt, her eyes hurt, her muscles, bones, and skin hurt. It felt as if she had been dumped into a tub of acid and left out to dry. Her mouth was parched, and her eyelids felt like they had been superglued shut. But she still felt her lungs swell, her heart beat, and her limbs twitch. She was alive. 

She moved to get up, but a gentle yet firm hand upon her shoulder pushed her back down. Cool glass was raised to her lips, and a liquid touched them. Water. She sipped slowly at it, while finally allowing her eyes to open. The dim lights in the room burned like they were the sun itself. She squinted as they adjusted. She realized someone was talking to her, on her left-hand side. A deep voice, a man. She looked over.

“…was hoping you’d wake up soon. You’ve been out for days,” said Viktor. He was clad in his typical ripperdoc gear and untucked shirt, his ancient stethoscope hanging around his neck. 

“Days?” V muttered, still struggling to reorient her senses. The last thing she remembered was swallowing Misty’s pills to let Johnny get them into Arasaka. Johnny…

“W-what happened?” she asked. Her brain was still a bowl of mush, thoughts whizzing left and right without ever stopping to let her catch up. But something was missing. The ever-present feeling of Johnny peering over her proverbial shoulder was gone. “Holy shit,” she muttered. “He did it. He’s gone.”

“That’s right kiddo,” said Viktor. “Your scans aren’t lighting up like a Christmas tree anymore, so that backseat driver of yours must’ve succeeded in whatever the hell you were doing at Arasaka.”

Viktor offered the glass of water again, and this time V was able to take it in her own hands. She sipped at it slowly, scanning the room as Viktor kept talking.

“Severe looking fella named Weyland brought you in here, kept talking about you and Rogue and something about a crash in a rainforest. I didn’t catch most of it, that man had the heaviest Jamaican accent I’ve ever heard. Said he wanted you to call him when you woke up.” Viktor leaned behind him to grab something off his operating cart. “And to give you this,” he said, holding out a pistol. It was a polished silver and black, modified Liberty handgun that V suddenly recognized.

“That’s…that’s Rogue’s pistol,” she said, gingerly taking it from Viktor. The cold, heavy metal felt strange in her hand. “This never left her side. Does that mean…” she trailed off.

“Yep, ‘fraid so kid. Word from the Afterlife is Rogue was flatlined by Adam Smasher at Arasaka. That Weyland fella said you, or, well, Johnny, grabbed that and killed Smasher with it.”

V stared at the gun in shock. Rogue, the tough as nails Queen of the Afterlife, was gone. And so was Adam Smasher apparently, the merc who had offed Johnny so many years ago. She gingerly put the pistol to her side. As she did so, her thoughts finally caught up to her, and the confrontation with Alt and Johnny suddenly invaded her mind. She froze in absolute terror. Her heartbeat took off like an AV engine as she started hyperventilating. A warning alert had started going off on one of Viktor’s monitors, and he cursed to himself as he turned to examine them. As he saw the data, he swiftly turned back around and grabbed V by the shoulders. 

“V! V! Calm down honey, your heart rate is spiking.” He bent over to face her, one hand cupping her jugular while the other gently massaged her shoulder. “It’s a panic attack kid, don’t let it take ya. Come back to me, listen to my voice. That’s it, calm. It’s ok kid, you’re ok. Come back to me now.”

V could only think about Alt’s terrible declaration, of how her own cells were attacking her brain, how she was an invader in her own body. Six months she had said. Six months to live. Her body was now designed for Johnny. Johnny, that son of a bitch. She had told him before he would take her body in the end. She had promised him that. Then, there at the bridge to the Blackwall, he had turned the tables on her. He said she should have all the life left to her, in her own body, in her own mind. And he had started down the bridge. She had screamed at him, cursed at him, threw him to the ground and rained punches down onto his head. She had even resorted to begging, to let her join Alt in Cyberspace and let him live a full life here, on Earth. But he had shrugged aside every one of her efforts. She remembered up to seeing him at the end of that accursed blue bridge, staring up at Alt, the pillar of light in the distance marking the entrance beyond the Blackwall. The walls of Cyberspace began closing in on them all, before darkness.

That asshole. That fucking asshole. He had gotten both of them killed. And here she was to pay the consequences of those actions.

In the distance, through the ringing in her ears, she heard Victor talking, pleading for her to come back. As she regained focus, she saw him visibly sag in relief.

“Don’t keep giving me scares like that kid, my old heart can only take so much,” he said in exasperation, slumping back into his chair. He glanced back to the monitors. “Seems you’re at least back to your old self again.”

V’s face hardened at that. Fucking Johnny. “No, Vic, it isn’t,” she said, barely at a whisper. She saw him raise an eyebrow at that. V frowned as tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes. “I’m not back, and I’m not gonna be ok.”

Then she explained what she had learned from Alt. How her immune system was treating her own brain as an intruder, eating away at it until she finally succumbed. How it had been hardwired to accept Johnny, not her. How he had left her to this fate by joining Alt beyond the Blackwall. How her life was still on a ticking clock.

Victor, to his credit, looked devastated. “Shit, V. I mean, just…shit. I-fuck, I’m sorry kid.” He looked down at his shoes. “At least that bastard did one good thing.”

V looked up at him, angry yet curious.

“He let you come back to me. To us, your friends I mean. To spend what time you have left with those who care about you, instead of leaving us with a stranger.

That did it for V. Too much had happened, was happening, and was going to happen for her mind to accept it all. She started crying, hard. Huge, wracking sobs that shook her whole body. Victor immediately pulled her to him, embracing her tightly. He didn’t say anything, merely rocked her back and forth as the noise of the city faded to nothing.

[-]

V slept fitfully, tossing and turning. She was dreaming, but it wasn’t really a nightmare. She just felt as if she were in a void, a never-ending darkness that was steadily consuming her, eating away at her mind and body until nothing remained. There was no way out, no way to fight it. Now way to survive. As she prepared herself to be cast into oblivion, a hand shook her shoulder. 

Her mind wrenched itself awake, and she was suddenly staring up into worried brown eyes, below messy rainbow hair and above full frowning lips. Judy.

V acted on the first thing that sprung into her mind. She grabbed that pretty face and pulled those full lips to her own, relishing in the sensation that so very effectively drove away the ghastly feeling from her dream.

Judy had paused in surprise for just a moment before returning the kiss in kind. V felt moisture on her own face, and realized Judy was crying. After another few blissful seconds, Judy pulled away. V smiled up at her, only to receive a hearty slap across her face. Her head whipped to the side and she froze, more-so in shock than in pain (though it really fucking hurt) and looked back up at Judy incredulously. Tears were freely streaming down her girlfriend’s face, leaving streaks in her makeup, the hand that had just struck her clutched to her chest. Then Judy grabbed her and kissed her again, hard. Judy was mumbling something through the kiss, and V pulled back to try and hear.

“You absolute fucking gonk, don’t you DARE even think about doing that to me again!” Judy murmured through sobs. “Never ever ever, V, you hear me? Never again.”

Then Judy was kissing her, and V just went with it. But in the back of her mind, she was still thinking how the hell she was going to tell her that yes, she would in fact be doing _that_ again.

[-]

V sat next to Judy on Vic’s old couch, her hand clutched tightly in Judy’s. After their tearful, and somewhat painful reunion, Judy had latched onto V and refused to let go. V couldn’t help but smile to herself at that. She remembered how she had resigned herself to never having someone like Judy, never having that connection. Because she had thought that by tethering yourself to someone like that, meant having your name lost to history forever. Only now did she realize how stupid and childish that notion was, how any amount of fame and fortune couldn’t replace the sheer joy in her heart right now.

As V studied her girlfriend, she did see a few alarming attributes. Judy’s hair was unkempt, knotted and unwashed. Her makeup looked like hell, covered in streaks from countless tears. Her eyes were bloodshot and dark bags sat above her nose, indicating a lack of sleep. Her cheeks were thin and V could hear her stomach just from sitting next to her. So she obviously hadn’t eaten either. At least that last ailment could be solved, as Vic and Misty were in their tiny kitchen, whipping up the breakfast of the century. But despite all of that, she was still the most beautiful thing V had ever laid her eyes on.

V couldn’t help but stare at Judy with some measure of guilt, though. She was the reason Judy looked like this. She was the reason why her precious girl was suffering. And in the end, it was Johnny who had forced her hand. On the other hand, she couldn’t help but think that if she got her way, Judy would still be heartbroken, but at least she’d be able to move on with some kind of closure. Now, her smart, brave, caring BD girl will have to watch her slowly die over the next few months, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

V must’ve been frowning, because Judy caught the look on her face. 

“Uh-uh, none’a that, V. I can practically hear you thinking.” Judy angled her body on the couch to face her. “I just got you back from the dead, and you’re not gonna start rainin’ on my good mood, got me?”

V smiled at that. “Yes ma’am, no sad faces today.”

Judy smiled back at her, and it was breathtaking. “Good.” She leaned in and captured V’s lips, and an unexplainable wave of peace washed over her, more effective than any drug.

Vik poked his head around the corner right then, a cheeky smile on his face. “If you two lovebirds wanna stop devouring one another, you can start devouring your breakfast. Soup’s on!”

Judy pulled back with a soft pop, the look in her eyes indescribable. So full of emotion it was impossible to decipher. Then her ever present smirk was back.

“C’mon V, time to get some food in you. Can’t take on Night City without the proper fuel.”

[-]

Johnny awoke feeling strange. Like, really strange. Like every single one of his nerves had gone numb and were just starting to kick back on, tingling with a vengeance. He forced his eyes open. The first thing to greet him was an Arasaka lab. White walls, white beds, white tables, white machines, all stamped with their Corpo logo. He was lying in one of those white beds, in a white lab gown. He gingerly raised his left arm to rub at his eyes. As he did, he noticed the arm itself. Whole, smooth skin, over real bone and muscle. Not his silver-plated implant he was so aptly named after. He marveled at it incredulously, before realizing the ramifications of such a change.

“Holy fuck,” he muttered, before scrambling out of the bed. Or at least trying to. 

He dropped to the floor with a thud, his limbs not obeying his mind’s commands. He tried raising himself up, then stumbled as he misjudged the length of his arms and legs. It was an odd sense of deja-vu, just like the first time he had taken control of V’s body. V…

“Holy fucking shit,” he muttered again. It _was_ just like when he was V. Which meant…

He dragged himself over to the nearest wall, where an Arasaka reflection panel sitting above a disinfectant sink was latched on. He used the plumbing of the sink to haul himself up, just enough so his head was within view of the panel. And he gasped.

Staring back at him was a man, the face not belonging to him. The man had blue eyes instead of brown, buzzcut blonde hair instead of long unkempt black, a strong jaw and even features. Not half bad looking, he mused. 

Using the sink, he leveraged his body up farther until he was on his own two feet. He lifted his left arm again to study it, fascinated. And then he laughed. He laughed so hard he collapsed back to the floor, clutching his sides. He laughed a solid several minutes, before finally calming and leaning against the wall. Across the room were giant sensory windows, that were currently looking out across Corpo plaza, and the sunrise of a new day. Johnny’s mouth stretched into a wide grin.

“Good morning Night City. Guess who’s fuckin’ back.”


	2. Part 1: Return, Chapter 2

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 2**

[-]

_One week before…_

Yuna Arasaka stared into her reflective panel from inside her room on the Arasaka Orbital Station BZ-1. She was a young, pretty Japanese woman with dark brown eyes, snow white hair pulled into a tight bun, and features so delicate they could pass as a doll. Her white lab coat was spotless, as usual. To anyone, she looked her typical, always in-control self. But her mind was spinning beyond control. Just moments ago, she had received a call informing her that her uncle, the great Saburo Arasaka, had been poisoned and died in Night City. She didn’t really know how to feel about it.

Her uncle had been a powerful and terrifying enigma of a man, ruling his corporation with an iron fist. She’d seen the toll his lack of parenting had taken on her cousins; Kei, Hanako, and Yorinobu. How they worked past exhaustion in their effort to please him, and how they never seemed to measure up. In that regard, Yuna was thankful, herself being an only child and daughter to Saburo Arasaka’s younger brother, Toshiro Arasaka. Toshiro had been a member of the Arasaka Board of Directors until his retirement in 2075, where she took his place as head of research and development. Like her cousins, she had been groomed for this position since before she could walk. But unlike her cousins, it had been with a gentle hand instead of a firm one.

She was not sorry Saburo was dead. The man had been a monster, acting more like a machine than anything else in his quest for power. She had heard of the terrible things he ordered during the last Corpo war. Entire towns scorched to ash, internment camps, civilian shields, human experimentation, suicide bombers. And it worked, as the Arasaka family now carried the helm to one of, if not the most powerful megacorporations in the world.

And in that, her hand had been forced. In all her 25 years, she’d longed to lead a simple life, start a family, have children. But her talent for biomechanical engineering had caught the eye of the greedy Arasakas, and now she was head of her own department, and project leader for a technology that would change the human race forever.

She had developed the technology for Save Your Soul on orders from Saburo himself. To him, the greatest enemy of all was time. He could buy all the life extension and age reversion technology he wanted, but none of it could give him his ultimate goal. Immortality. In response to this problem, it was her father’s idea to not focus on the body, but on the mind. If they could harness a way to copy the data on the human brain into a digital Engram, then that person could effectively live forever in Cyberspace, even while their body failed and died. 

Then, in 2023, her father did it. He had created the first digital copy of a human being’s mind. It was mind-blowing technology, decades ahead of its time. But it came at a cost. The Engram could not remain stable in Cyberspace. It had to have a host, a body to inhabit, or it would quickly degenerate and be destroyed. So her father developed neural interface chips, chips that the data of the Engram could be stored upon and uploaded into a body’s neural link. And once again, problems arose. The chip would attempt to overwrite its host’s DNA with the Engram’s, effectively erasing the host’s mind so the Engram could properly take over. To the Arasakas, this was a minor inconvenience. Lives to them were like lab mice, ready to be used in whatever way was necessary. To Yuna it was horrific. The idea of a stranger taking over one’s mind from inside was positively gut wrenching. And that’s where her part came in.

Yuna, brilliant as she was, came up with a program to stabilize digitized Engrams so they would no longer deteriorate in Cyberspace. The program itself was comparable to a freezer, in a way. The Engram would be uploaded, then put into a coma of sorts. It could not think or operate until the program released it, or it was uploaded to a host body. While outside of this program, the Engram would still deteriorate, but once returned it could be repaired. This way, Engrams could be interacted with without the worry of losing its data if left outside a host for too long. And so, Save Your Soul had been born.

The company had already created dozens of Engrams since Toshiro had created the technology. A few had been lost, or damaged beyond repair, but the majority remained still. Politicians, celebrities, megacorp CEO’s, Arasaka scientists and Arasaka board members made up the majority of these stored Engrams, a datavault which Yuna oversaw. The amount of money someone outside of Arasaka had to pay for this service was astronomical, but that’s what funded her research. Now, it was her turn to join them.

As part of Saburo’s contingency in the case of his sudden death, she had been ordered to upload an Engram of herself, in case his death was a conspiracy plot to eliminate the Arasaka family. Her cousins had received the same order. Yuna was dreading it. The idea of there being a copy of her consciousness out there made her so uncomfortable, it was verging on paranoia. She’d always hated the Engram program. Hated making them, interacting with them, repairing them. It was unnatural, against the laws of nature. But she had no choice. Simply having the name Arasaka chained her to this path.

A knock on the door behind her pulled Yuna from her thoughts. She furiously wiped her eyes before opening it. Standing on the other side was an Arasaka security officer.

“Ms. Arasaka, your shuttle has been prepared. It is waiting for you in Dock One.”

Yuna frowned. When she had received the phone call about Saburo’s death, she had been ordered to the Night City tower to be present for Yorinobu’s ascension to CEO. Seeing her cousin again, especially now, frightened her like nothing else.

“Very well. I will be there shortly.” She shut the door in his face.

She walked back to the mirror, looked at herself again, and cried.

[-]

_5 days before…_

Cashmere Gallagher stepped out of his Rayfield Aerondight R9, a self-centered smirk on his face, and looked up at Night City’s Arasaka tower. He was a tall, broad man with piercing blue Kiroshi eyes, lightly tanned skin, military style blonde hair, a spotless grey suit, and a glaring sense of superiority. Which suited him just fine, as he was the Senior Executive Vice President of Militech Corp. 

It had come up in rumor that Arasaka had figured out a way to digitize the human mind. Copying a soul, they said. So when the technology was actually marketed to the public, the choice for Gallagher was obvious. How else would he be able to spend his billions, if he couldn’t live long enough to use them?

Cashmere, or Cash to those he didn’t find annoying (which excluded most of humanity), had grown up with a huge silver spoon lodged solidly down his throat. His father, Tiberius Gallagher, had been the CEO of Militech during the Corpo wars, but was assassinated shortly afterward. Not that it bothered Cash that much, since he never saw his father enough to warrant an opinion on the man. 

Cash’s lifestyle was the epitome of lavish. Huge parties every other night at his sprawling estate in North Oak, and full club buyouts on the others. A garage stuffed full of rare and expensive cars. A new girl in his bed every night. An in with the biggest celebrities and politicians in the city. The best implants money could buy. And a seat on Militech’s Board of Directors, all from his daddy’s pocket.

But, like so many others in the city, Cash had darkness in him too. When you have as much money and time as he does, you’re bound to get bored pretty quick. And for Cash, boredom led him to a life of depravity. Torture and murder of Joy-Toys, assassinations of Corpo opponents, both inside his company and out. Theft, fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion. Pitting gangs against each other. Destruction of property. The usual pastimes for an evil gonk in Night City.

Not like any of that bothered Cash though. Like most Corpos, he was in it for all the money and power in the world. And, as he entered the main door of Arasaka tower, he knew he’d found the answer.

[-]

_Present…_

V lay sprawled across Judy’s lap, in the tiny guest bedroom of Misty’s flat. Her chest was heaving as the height of her climax wound down. Judy was smiling that mischievous smile of hers, knowing she had gotten the better of the mighty V. V really couldn’t complain about it either.

After working through the breakfast of champions Misty and Vik had laid out for them, Judy had pulled V up the stairs and into the micro sized bedroom she had been using while V was unconscious. It was a mere 2 minutes later that the two were writhing on the bed together. Misty and Vik had already acquired sound dampening headphones in preparation.

Now, after 3 climaxes each, the two lovers lay together in the darkness, basking in the afterglow. V reached up, idly tracing the spiderweb tattoo adorning Judy’s left breast, while she organized her thoughts. Judy was softly running her fingers through V’s hair, making it hard to concentrate. V knew she had to tell Judy her unfortunate diagnosis sooner or later, but fear took hold of her tongue every time she considered it. 

She didn’t want to lose this, what they had. She wanted to savor every last second. And she feared as soon as Judy knew she was still dying, that magic would fade into worry and stress once again. V knew Judy wanted to leave Night City, had told her herself just days ago. And if she knew V was dying, V was worried that she would leave. And not come back again. But on the other hand, she knew her girlfriend had the right to know what her partner was facing. V knew she’d want to know immediately if Judy was dying too, so it was only fair.

While she pondered how to bring it up, Judy’s soft, slightly raspy voice pierced the darkness.

“You know, V, I just realized I barely know anything about you. Or you about me. I told you about my childhood on our swim, but that’s about it.”

V’s heart seized up, unsure of where this conversation was heading. Did she already want to leave? Was she regretting staying with her?

“So,” continued Judy. “I want to fix that. Right now. Tell me about you. Your childhood. I wanna know everything.”

V visibly relaxed, turning her head up to meet Judy’s eyes. At least this was a slightly easier subject than the one she had to eventually bring up.

“Ok,” V said. “Hmm. I was born in Colorado, in this tiny town nobody remembers. My dad was a mechanic and my mom sold shoes. We moved to Night City when I was 8, drawn in by that fake promise of a better future this city always advertises.” V felt Judy chuckle at that. “We were good for another 5 years, until my dad was killed by some Animals in Pacifica.” 

Judy froze, probably not expecting such a turn in V’s story. V squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“It was tough after that. Not enough eddies to go around. My mom started doing drugs to cope, and I was the one to fend for us. Ended up doing odd jobs for the local gangs, anything to earn enough for food and rent. Mom passed a year later from an overdose. Using what I learned from the gangs is how I became a Streetkid. Fending for myself and chasing glory.”

“Jeez, I’m so sorry V.” V heard her sniffle. “You miss them?”

V nodded. “Everyday.”

Judy helped pull V to a sitting position so she could properly embrace her. “I’m sorry for bringing that up V. I didn’t know it was so bad for you.”

V hugged her back. “It’s ‘k, Jude. I came to terms with their deaths a long time ago. And it was only fair for me to tell you.” V pulled back and smiled. “Though I wish I could’ve done it in as nova a way as you did.”

Judy put on her trademark smirk. “I think you did babe. Telling me without any clothes on is so much more nova.”

V laughed and kissed that beautiful smirk.

[-]

It wasn’t until the next day that V started her life up again. She and Judy had lain in bed for hours the previous night, just talking. At some point they had dozed off. It wasn’t until the faint morning light started streaming through the tiny window by the bed that they stirred. 

V was the first to rise. She once again marveled at not sensing Johnny immediately in her head. She hadn’t realized how used to it she’d gotten until he was gone.

She looked around the room for her clothes from the day before, only to find them gone. In their place were her armored jacket and pants, neatly folded next to Judy’s crop top and overalls. Her weapons lay in a box by the door, and two towels had been hung on the hook above that. 

V walked over to her jacket, picking it up and taking a tentative sniff. Lavender and lemon. V’s heart wrenched. Sometime during the night, Misty had cleaned her and Judy’s clothes, and left them towels. She dropped the jacket and grabbed her heavily modified Ajax from the box, racking the bolt back. It shot back as if greased with lightning. The damn thing was cleaner than when she bought it. That must’ve been Vik’s handiwork.

V could feel hot tears pooling at her eyelids as she held that rifle. She’d never really been an emotional person, cried maybe once or twice a year. And now in the past week she’d broken down more times than she could count. Her emotions were too strong for her to process. What had she done to warrant such care, such love? She’d gotten Misty’s boyfriend killed, her best choom Jackie. She’d ended up on Vik’s table a dozen times and he’d never asked for compensation. Yet still they do even these little things for her, tiny details that meant everything. Maybe Johnny was right. Maybe it would’ve been more evil to leave these people, her friends without so much as a goodbye.

V heard a groan behind her and jumped. Judy was rolling over, her sleepy eyes opening to see V. Then Judy cracked a wide smile.

“Now that’s a sight I can wake up to every day,” she said, her eyes raking over V’s body. “You, naked, holding a big ass gun.”

V realized she was still holding her Ajax. She tossed it back into the box it came from before going to sit by Judy.

“Mornin’ Jude,” she said, softly brushing Judy’s rainbow-colored hair away from her face. “Sleep good?”

“Mmhmm,” murmured Judy, her eyes closing again from V’s ministrations. If somebody had told her this is where she would be a month ago, V would’ve laughed in their face. She’d always been set on her path to make a name for herself, go down in a blaze of glory. Used to think settling down meant having your name erased from the history books forever. Only now, staring down at Judy’s beautiful face, did she realize how wrong she was. Nothing could replace this feeling, this longing she had in her heart for the girl in front of her. Nothing.

“Mmm, don’t stop V,” murmured Judy. V had stopped brushing Judy’s hair at some point. Judy opened her eyes again. “You ok- “

“Valerie,” V suddenly said. “My real name is Valerie.”

Judy’s shocked look was swiftly replaced with a smile so wide it damn near reached her ears. “Valerie,” she echoed, as if tasting the word. “A pretty name for a pretty girl. Though, you know, I still like V better. Carries that mystery with it, you know? So, how ‘bout, to me, you’re Val?”

V nodded. “Sure. I can be Val. But only to you.”

Judy seemed pleased with this. “Good, ‘cause you were all mine anyway.”

[-]

The first thing V did was call Weyland. He answered almost immediately.

“V! Good to hear ya ah alive. Was worried ya would’nta made it afta what happened at Arasaka.”

“What exactly happened, Weyland? I can’t really remember anything,” asked V.

“We crash landed into da towa, had to fight our way to da lowa levals. Rogue was killed by da Smasha, but we managed to bring da big bastad down. Then ya plugged into da machine, Mikoshi, and sunk into its coolant. You were unda for maybe a minute, before wakin’ up. Said you were free, that da Silverhand was gone. We fought our way outta there, stole one o’ their vehicles. I brought ya to ya rippa, seems he fixed ya right up.”

V paused to let all that sink in. She already knew Rogue and Smasher were dead, but she didn’t realize how much of a fuck up the mission had gone. Again, probably all Johnny’s doing, since she knew Rogue was a master planner. Weyland continued on.

“They want ya back at the Aftalife, said somethin’ ‘bout Rogue’s last ordas. When can I tell them ya be here?”

V didn’t really have anything else going on, so she supposed now would be fine.

“I can come now,” she said.

“Good,” said Weyland. “We will be waitin’ for ya girl.” With a click, he hung up.

Judy was waiting by the door to Misty’s shop, her car keys in hand. “C’mon V, I’ll give you a lift.”

Apparently Judy already knew what was going on and where they were going. Her smart, smart girl. They hopped into her Thorton and took off for The Afterlife.

The roads were quiet for it being so early in the morning. V figured it must’ve been a weekend. Things like days of the week had been unimportant to her recently, with more pressing matters at hand.

It only took a matter of minutes to arrive. The famous merc bar was just closing up, its late night/early morning patrons shuffling out to head home to their beds. A few recognized her as she walked up, waving hi or giving a short greeting. Several looked curiously at her hand, which was folded with Judy’s.

Bronson stood at his usual place, in front of the bar’s entrance. He stepped aside to let them through.

“Mornin’ boss,” he said. V almost said morning back, until she realized what he’d called her. Boss. The title reserved for Rogue. V’s mouth suddenly went very dry.

She pulled herself and Judy to the bar, where Claire was doing the last of her cleaning. V immediately took a seat.

“Mornin’ V,” said Claire. “Kinda early for you, innit?”

V just started rubbing her temples. “Tequila, please, Claire.”

Claire looked concerned, but didn’t address V’s mood. “And anything for the pretty little thing with you?” she asked, turning to address Judy. “I’m Claire. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

V turned to Judy, feeling guilty. She’d almost forgotten she was sitting right next to her.

“I’m Judy,” her girlfriend replied. “Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand, the one not clasped in V’s, to shake with Claire’s.

Claire looked knowingly V’s and Judy’s joined hands. “You two make a cute couple. Reminds me of me and Dean when we first got married.”

At that, V and Judy both flushed. Claire laughed, pulling two glasses seemingly out of thin air and filling them with tequila, before sliding them in front of the two girls.

“Here ya go, drink up. Make it quick too, looks like they’re waiting for you.”

V turned to follow Claire’s gaze, only to see a group of people sitting in Rogue’s corner booth. There was Weyland, Padre, Dakota Smith, Dino Donovic, Muamar Reyes, Wakako Okada, and a very uncomfortable looking Regina Jones. All the top fixers and mercs in Night City, all in one place. V was dumbfounded.

Judy had already finished her drink and was tugging on V’s hand. “C’mon Val,” she whispered. “They’re here for you.”

Hearing Judy say Val woke V up like an electric shock. She quickly quaffed her tequila, barely savoring the burn as it went down her throat. Then she grabbed a quick good luck kiss from Judy before jumping up and walking to the booth. Judy stayed at the bar, probably already sensing she didn’t belong.

“V, it is good to see you,” said Padre in his deep velvet voice. “We have some matters to discuss based on recent events. Please, sit.”

He motioned to the empty seat beside himself. V took it, already nervous.

“It has come to our attention that Rogue Amendiares has passed,” said Wakako from across the table. “She made it very clear to us that should she die, then the mantle of Queen of the Afterlife and lead fixer pass onto one of us.”

Wakako sniffed in annoyance, obviously peeved about something. She pointed at Weyland. “Rogue’s associate here, however, has different news.”

Weyland leaned over V’s shoulder and winked at her as he slotted a datashard into the table’s built-in computer. A holoimage of Rogue appeared in front of them. The timestamp in the corner put the recording shortly after V took the pill to let Johnny take over her body and break into Arasaka.

“In the event of my death,” said the recording, “Full ownership of the Afterlife, along with all privileges and responsibilities associated with it, shall be granted to the mercenary V. If V is unable to take this position due to her own death or otherwise, ownership shall go to Wakako Okada. So says I, Rogue Amendiares, Queen of the Afterlife, 2077.”

V couldn’t quite figure out yet how to close her gaping jaw. All eyes turned to her.

“Rogue…wanted me…to replace her? Why?” V asked.

None of the fixers before her had an answer. Wakako continued on.

“So, V. Do you accept this position, or not?”

V stared at the faces around the table. Dakota was expressionless. Wakako looked furious. Padre and Dino were giving slight nods. Reyes was waving his hand in a ‘get on with it’ gesture. Regina looked kind of green, while Weyland had a wide grin on his face. Finally, V looked over at Judy, still sitting at the bar.

V knew that Judy knew what was going on. Even from a distance, V could see the expression on Judy’s face. It was an expression of ‘just say yes you gonk.’ V turned back to Wakako.

“I accept,” she said simply. The rest of the fixers nodded their heads in agreement, while Reyes cheered at the top of his lungs “Long live the Queen!”

V felt Padre place his hand on her shoulder. The look in his eyes was that of a proud father looking upon his star child.

“Welcome home, mija,” he said.

[-]

It didn’t take Johnny long to figure out where he was. The view from the windows was clue enough. He was on the upper floors of Arasaka Tower, in a research lab of some sort. Probably the one reserved for Save Your Soul participants, if the bodies in the room around him were anything to go by.

Just as Alt said, there were 6 other bodies on this floor, and no staff. The warning klaxons were still blaring, so his time in Cyberspace must’ve been mere seconds. Just then, a distant explosion went off, somewhere below him. Johnny rushed to the window, to see an armored Arasaka transport truck fly out of the parking garage in a plume of smoke and fire. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew. That was V.

“Heh, nice exit kid,” he said to himself. “Good luck V.”

He turned to assess his situation. He needed a disguise, or at least a weapon, to get out of there. He walked back to his bed and grabbed the chart hanging off of it. On the top was the name of the body he had taken over. Cashmere Gallagher.

Johnny cursed. Then he cursed again. “How the fuck did I end up with this silver spoon nutjob?” he demanded to no one. “Just my fucking luck I got a Militech Corpo dirtbag. Fuck me.”

He threw the chart to the ground. Well, at least he had a good alibi. Now to find some clothe-

He stopped. There in the bed beside him, was a young woman. Japanese descent, but with white hair. She was in the same lab gown as he was, and the monitors by her bed were still beeping, unlike the rest. It was then Johnny remembered the other part of Alt’s ‘countermeasures.’ How there were two bodies left, one for him and one for V, each with its mind wiped. This must’ve been the one for V, her way to survive. But just looking at her made Johnny’s stomach drop. The woman in the bed, was an Arasaka.


	3. Part 1: Return, Chapter 3

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 3**

[-]

_Goooood Morning Night City! This is Arif Iqbal, reporting with WNS News._

_In a shocking turn of events, it was revealed that Saburo Arasaka had a digital Engram of himself copied into Arasaka Corp’s Save Your Soul database, and is now inhabiting the body of his son, Yorinobu Arasaka. Corporations and governments around the world have expressed outrage over this development, saying a dead man has no right to continue leading his company._

_Militech CEO Joseph Grand stated, “This deception is terrifying to the international community. In what world can a megacorp CEO hijack his own son’s body with a copy of himself? Militech will not stand for this. No negotiations will be had. Either this imposter Saburo Arasaka steps down, or it will mean all-out war.”_

[-]

Escape. That was first on the agenda. Johnny did a quick scan of the room, first locating a suit that fit him in the storage lockers of the lab, along with several combat harnesses and a Copperhead assault rifle. He quickly put on the suit, a fashionable grey Corpo number, then studied the gear. He figured he’d want to make his exit quiet, though the pandemonium happening downstairs from his and V’s little operation was probably distraction enough. If only there was a smaller, more concealable weapon. 

In an effort to weigh all his options, he did a diagnostic scan of the body he now inhabited. Most of it was gibberish to his ancient mind, but some of it he recognized from his time spent with V.

Cashmere Gallagher was equipped with a Dynalar Sandevistan Mk.4 neural processor, titanium augmented bones, several artificial organ replacements, and a Monowire in his right wrist.

Johnny let out a low whistle. Gallagher had better tech in him than MaxTac. Maybe escaping from this Corpo shitshow would be easier than he thought.

Ignoring the combat gear and rifle, Johnny exited the lab, making sure to note the floor and room number he was leaving. Floor 70, Lab 6. He rounded a corner, only to come face to face with an Arasaka security officer. He froze.

“Halt! What is your business here?” the officer demanded. Johnny noticed the officer’s hand holding a pistol tightly at his side. He had to think quickly.

“Err, I’m, uh, Cash. Cashmere Gallagher. Here for the Save Your Soul program. Came out to see what all the fuss was about.” He pointedly looked up at the still blazing klaxons.

The officer didn’t move an inch. “The facility has been breached. All visitors must remain where they are until the situation has been handled.”

Shit, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He had to get out before someone who knew his body saw him, and even his big mouth wouldn’t be enough to talk his way out. Discreetly, he fingered the Monowire that was slowly inching out of his wrist.

“Yes, of course officer.” He readied himself, then looked over the officer’s shoulder. “Holy fucking shit, what’s that?!”

The officer turned instinctively, and Johnny jabbed the Monowire into the man’s neck. With a loud zap, the man collapsed to the ground, his cranial circuitry fried. Johnny cracked a wise-ass smile at that.

“Shit, thought that only worked in the movies.”

He grabbed the man’s body, stowing it away in a storage closet nearby, before making his way to the elevator.

The security in the lobby were obviously on high alert, and Johnny had 5 barrels pointed at his face as soon as the doors to his elevator opened. He immediately threw his hands up.

“Friendly!” he cried out automatically. The lead officer hesitated, before lowering his rifle.

“Mr. Gallagher, sir, you should be sheltering in place. It is very dangerous for you here.”

Johnny put on his best effort at a Corpo sleazebag smile. “Hm, nobody told me that. I was merely on my way out when your ear shattering alarms came on. I thought it was in my best interest to leave.”

The officer seemed to accept that logic, but escorted Johnny to the security scanner anyway. They searched him, scanned his retina, then let him go while repeatedly telling him not to attempt to enter the building again until the situation was under control. Johnny thanked him and headed out the front doors. Maybe being a Corpo wasn’t such a bad thing in situations like this.

Johnny stepped out onto Corpo plaza unmolested, breathing in deep the stench of Night City. That potent aroma of rotting garbage and false hope that permeated every square foot. At the bottom of the stairs, a car was pulling up. A Rayfield Aerondight. Curious, Johnny stepped up to the car, and pressed his thumb into the fingerprint reader on the handle. With a beep, the door opened.

“Radical,” Johnny breathed. He jumped into the driver’s seat and peeled out of the plaza with a screech. 

“I’m comin’ V,” he said with a grin.

[-]

The next few hours were a whirlwind for V. There were so many people to call, documents to read, things to do. After hanging up on the Afterlife’s last currently employed ripperdoc, she desperately needed a break. Her brain felt like it was gonna explode.

“Enough!” she cried out to the fixers still in the bar with her. “I need a minute. Just…”

She swiftly rose from her seat, turning towards the exit. 

“Young lady!” Wakako called out behind her. We’re nowhere near done yet.”

“I fucking know that,” V snarled back at her. “Just give me a few goddamn minutes.” She rubbed at her face in exasperation. When she pulled her hand away, it was covered in blood.

_No no no not this again!_

She ran to the bathroom, trying to stem the flow of blood from her nose. She slammed the door behind her and stared into the reflective panel. She looked absolutely haggard. She didn’t realize all the shit Rogue had to deal with until now, when she was in her shoes.

V massaged her temples with one hand while the other held her nose. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the flow stopped. Only to be replaced by the coughing.

She coughed so hard she began to retch, and she quickly ran to the toilet to let out the bile from her stomach. Her head was spinning, the light was too bright, and the expulsion from her stomach had flecks of red in it.

_Fuck me fuck me oh fuck._

A knock at the door sounded.

“V? You alright in there?”

Shit, it was Judy. She couldn’t let her see her like this. But she didn’t know if she’d make it out of that bathroom alive without her.

The door cracked, Judy peeking her head in.

“Val? You ok?”

Judy stepped into the grimy bathroom, immediately noticing the blood coating the sink. She rushed over to inspect it, then looked behind her at the sound of V coughing. She hurried to the stall, only to find V leaning over the toilet, coughing and vomiting and covered in all sorts of horrible things. She grabbed V’s shoulders.

“Val! Val! Do we need to get you to Viktor? Call Trauma? Jesus V say something!”

V slumped at the contact.

“You’re not alright, are you?” Judy asked knowingly. Of course she would figure it out. Judy was too smart for her own good.

V squeezed her eyes shut as hot tears pooled at the corners. She sobbed once, twice, then it became a never-ending stream. Judy pulled her against her, embracing her from behind.

“I-I w-was gonna t-tell you,” V stuttered. “I j-just didn’t kn-know how.”

Judy just gently rubbed V’s shoulders. “Just because Johnny’s gone doesn’t mean the chip didn’t mess you up, huh?” she said.

V could only nod. Now was as good a time as any she guessed. She steeled herself.

“The Engram in the chip was rewriting my genetic code the entire time it was in there. It got far enough that my brain is more Johnny than me.”

V breathed deep, struggling to find the courage to break Judy’s heart again.

“My immune system is treating my own brain as an intruder. Attacking it. I have less than six months before something gives.” V averted her head, staring at the ground. “I’m completely fucked. A goner. And I didn’t want you to suffer, knowing my fate.”

Judy hugged her tighter, not saying anything. V could feel her tears falling onto the back of her neck. V kept going, seeing as her foot was already in her mouth far enough.

“I don’t have a choice anymore. But you do. With the resources I have now, I can get you out. Away from this city, and away from me. You won’t have to deal with-“

“No! I already said you’re not gonna do that to me again!” cried Judy. “I-I’m not gonna leave you. Not now. We’re gonna get you through this Valerie, you hear me? We’re gonna fix this.”

V shook her head. “It’s impossible. This has never happened to any person in history before. There’s no tech or ripperdoc that can fix me. Viktor said so himself.”

She reached up and grabbed Judy’s hand. “I can’t let you, or anyone else suffer anymore ‘cause of me. I’ll get the Afterlife set up, get my affairs in order, then I’ll just-”

Judy forced V around so they were facing one another. Despite the tears flowing from her eyes, Judy’s expression was pure anger. 

“No! You will listen to me Valerie, and you’ll listen good. You’re not gonna give up. Leaving now will just hurt everyone who cares about you more than anything else. Especially me. V, you woke me up, made me realize how much this city was dragging me down. You made me see when nobody else could. When you called me that night, before you charged into Arasaka, I thought you were gonna fucking die, and then I’d be lost all over again. I NEED you V, and you need me, and Viktor, and Misty, and all the people outside those doors. Going off and thinking you’re making people suffer less will only make YOU suffer more, and I can’t stand that. You’re everything to me now, ‘til the very end.”

V swallowed, unable to look her in the eyes. “Judy, I-”

“Because I fucking love you V! I love you so much it hurts, and I won’t let you go. Not now, not ever.”

V looked up at her with wide eyes. “Jesus, Judy, I…I love you too. I love you so much that I can’t even describe it.”

“I know, you gonk,” said Judy, the shadow of a smirk on her lips. “Now, we’re gonna get you cleaned up so you can get back to being Queen of Night City. I’m gonna call up my people, and we’re gonna find a solution to fix you up. Because that’s the only choice here, you got me?”

Judy managed a small smile of her own. “Yes, ma’am.”

Judy pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “C’mon you, we’ve got shit to do.”

[-]

After much protesting from the fixers, mainly Wakako, Judy managed to convince them that she had to take V to her ripperdoc. The blood coating V’s face and clothes sold most of them, and the expression on Judy’s face did it for the rest.

It was now early afternoon in the city, and traffic, as usual, sucked. Judy had passed over a towel and a carton of water to V, who was currently doing her best not to stain the inside of Judy’s car.

It was at yet another red light that Judy let out a huff. V turned to see her girl clutching the steering wheel with a death grip. Before V could even open her mouth, Judy spoke up.

“Even though everything I said back there was true, I’m still really fucking mad at you,” said Judy through gritted teeth. “You should’ve told me soon as you woke up. You know I’d do the same for you.”

V’s heart wrenched at that. She had been thinking the same thing the other day, how Judy wouldn’t hesitate to tell V anything. And V, ever the hypocrite, had done the opposite.

“I need to trust you V. And I need you to trust me. That’s the only way we get through this.”

I’m sorry, Jude,” whispered V. “I didn’t…I couldn’t hurt you again with that. It’s my burden to bear, and I wouldn’t want to put any of it on you.”

“Well it’s my burden too,” said Judy. “You know why? ‘Cause we’re a team now, you and I. We’ll get through this together, or not at all.”

The finality in her voice caused V to pause. A good minute of tense silence passed.

“I’ve always trusted you,” said V, her voice cracking the tension. “Since the day we met, in the basement of that club. Moment I saw you, I just had this reassurance, that you were a good guy. Not a villain. Didn’t even hesitate when you put that jacked up BD rig on me.”

Judy didn’t say anything.

“I trusted you with my life. You know when we went swimming, to your old hometown? I had every intention to not get in that water. One of my biggest fears is the water. The bleak vastness of it. No light, no life, just crushing darkness, ready to swallow up whatever was tossed in. But I did it because of you. Because of how much I trusted you, to not lose me down there. I was utterly terrified the whole time, but I knew whatever it was we were doing, it was important to you. I wanted to be there ‘cause of that.”

Judy looked over at her, her own expression melting from anger to awe.

And I was right, to give you that trust,” V continued. “When I passed out in that church, you brought me back. I’ve cheated death more times than I’d like to admit, and every time it was blind luck. Only once did a _person_ save me from it. Only once.”

V reached over and clutched Judy’s hand with her own.

“So here on out, I promise, on my life, that I’ll prove that you can trust me, as much as I trust you.”

Judy was biting her lip, obviously sorting through her feelings.

“I believe you,” she finally choked out, squeezing V’s hand.

[-]

After getting back to the clinic, Judy joined V in the shower. She claimed it was to help clean the slop off from her incident earlier. Her nimble fingers between V’s legs said otherwise.

After a _very_ steamy shower, the two got dressed and went down to see Vik.

Viktor was in the process of installing new tech into a patient, so V and Judy went back to Misty’s to wait. It was only 20 minutes later that the patient walked out, with a shiny new plate gleaming from the side of his head.

Viktor followed shortly after, and upon noticing the girls, brightened considerably.

“Afternoon ladies, back so soon?” he asked, taking a swig from a water bottle. “How’s everyone at the Afterlife?”

“Er, good,” V said awkwardly, thinking back to the gang of angry fixers. “We’ll catch you up later. First, we wanna see the brain scans you did on me when I was unconscious.”

Viktor visibly slumped at that. 

“Um, well, V, the thing is…” He glanced at Judy nervously.

“She already knows the gist,” said V. “What I want is a set diagnosis.”

Viktor nodded. “Well, let’s go down to the clinic. Bring up the records.”

He led the way, dropping into his chair in front of his computer. V moved to peer over his shoulder, while Judy leaned against the door.

With a few quick commands, Viktor brought up V’s brain scans. On the screen, the main sections of V’s brain were blue, with red lines spiderwebbing everywhere like lightning. There wasn’t a single section of blue that wasn’t infected with the red lines.

“The red parts are sites of high white blood cell activity,” explained Viktor, pointing at the screen. “They’re acting as if you had the flu, attacking and destroying cell structures.”

Viktor leaned back into his chair, pulling off his glasses. He looked tired. 

“At first, there was only a small amount of activity, in your prefrontal lobe. But the attacking cells have increased exponentially over the last few days. If this goes on for much longer, neural connections will start to break, resulting in dementia, seizures, sensory loss, organ failure, then…” He trailed off. They all knew what the final stage was.

V clenched her fists hard, her nails biting into her palm implants. She needed to know.

“How long?” she asked. Vik didn’t answer immediately. “How long?!” V demanded again.

“A few months, maybe. Possibly weeks.”

V sank to her knees. Alt had said six months. The AI must’ve been thinking on the positive side for that diagnosis, for once.

“Is there anything you can do?” V asked, already knowing the answer.

Viktor sighed. “Neural degeneration on this magnitude has never been seen before. I could possibly prescribe some Talyuraphentinol, the drug they give to cyberpsychos in recovery. But that would only buy you days, if anything.”

Judy had come up behind V, wrapping her arms around her.

“She’ll take anything you can give us Vik. A few more days would be worth it.”

Viktor nodded, rising from his chair. “I’ll make some calls.” He rested a hand on V’s shoulder. “I’m sorry kid. I’m truly sorry.” And with that, he left.

[-]

Joseph Grand sat in his office atop Militech Tower, sipping on a brandy and smoking a cigar. The office was opulent, as was befitting a Megacorp CEO. Gold and silver lined exotic wood furniture. Huge one-way windows were present on every wall. Antique weapons and trophies sat in cushioned display boxes lining the room.

On this particular day, Grand was celebrating. He finally was getting the war he’d been wanting for decades. Ever since the last Great Corpo War, which he himself had fought in, he’d dreamt of the day he could topple the mighty Arasaka Corporation. Their use of dirty tactics and illegal strategies to destroy lesser corporations had always enraged him. 

He’d been annoyed, yet somewhat pleased when he’d heard the news that Saburo Arasaka had been murdered. By his own son, no less. Grand would’ve very much liked to squeeze the life from the old man himself, but the irony of the truth was still sweet.

Grand had served under Tiberius Gallagher, the previous Militech CEO, as one of his top military strategists. He was in charge of figuring out counters to Arasaka’s, and other corporations’, unorthodox tactics. How to detect suicide bombers with nuclear devices, how to free troops from heavily guarded security camps, how to hack and counter-hack spies and informants. He learned early on that if his enemy fought dirty, then so should he. 

He became very proficient at kidnapping and assassinating family members of rivals, planting false information, targeting civilian areas, torturing prisoners, anything that would bring about victory. When the dust finally settled, he was convinced he had sinned as much as any of the enemy corporations, maybe even more. But he couldn’t care less. Militech became a Megacorporation under Tiberius Gallagher, in part due to his own efforts. Which is why he was named CEO shortly after Gallagher was killed.

Grand had long retained suspicions that the murder was Arasaka’s doing, as a last ‘fuck you’ for ending the war. All evidence pointed to BioTechnica, but the motive was still unclear. Why would BioTechnica, one of Militech’s top investor clients, target the hand that feeds?

But now, now Grand had his chance. Seeing the news that Saburo had a personality Engram installed into his son infuriated him beyond belief, but also gave him a solid reason to defy Arasaka. The reveal had sparked outrage across the world, and he was confident he could get the financial, military, and political support to end Arasaka once and for all.

But he had to be patient. To wait for the precise moment to strike. In the meantime, he would build up his forces, weasel his way into the upper geopolitical circles, and eliminate loose ends.

He picked up the polished gold phone from his desk. A voice registered immediately from the other side.

“Yes, Mr. Grand?”

“Get me Colonel Grave from MaxTac. I have a target for him.”


	4. Part 1: Return, Chapter 4

** Another Choice **

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 4**

[-]

“Dear daughter, what is troubling you?” asked Saburo Arasaka. He and Hanako Arasaka were standing in his office on the top floor of Arasaka tower. His successful integration into his son, Yorinobu, did not faze him. The boy had become a weakling, and weakness was not accepted from an Arasaka. 

Only a day had passed since the attack by the mercenary terrorists on his tower. They had escaped, unfortunately, but he already had men out searching for them. Reports were that one of them was the infamous Rogue of the Afterlife, one of the original attackers from over 50 years ago who planted the two hydrogen bombs in the last Arasaka tower. She was dead, killed by Yorinobu’s metal dog, Adam Smasher, who also met his fate in the underbelly of the tower.

As punishment for this recent attack, and for the weakness displayed after his physical death, Saburo had his entire Board of Directors, excluding Hanako, executed. Hanako had called a meeting to reveal the truth of his death to the Board, how Yorinobu had strangled him in his penthouse. The fools had demanded proof, and denied the accusation, not wishing to believe in such slander. Hanako then revealed his Engram to them, and they still didn’t believe he yet lived. After mocking his image, Saburo had had enough, and ordered the security in the room to wipe them out. Hanako then brought him to his son, who lay weeping on the floor, and uploaded him. His superior will quickly overpowered his son’s, and Saburo Arasaka was alive once more.

“The statement from Militech is troubling me, father,” Hanako answered. “They would go to war over your return. Our company is at risk as it hasn’t been in half a century.”

Saburo said nothing, only continuing to stare out the window of his office at the city below. After several silent minutes, he spoke.

“The Save Your Soul program was not simply to preserve high-minded individuals and vain celebrities,” he said. “It was designed as the next evolution for the human race. Unlimited time, knowledge, eliminating fear of death. It is our destiny to leave this mortal plane behind, and ascend to a higher state of being.”

He turned to regard his daughter. It still made Hanako uneasy, seeing her father’s soul behind her brother’s eyes. Saburo either didn’t notice the uneasiness, or didn’t care.

“That is why I had you create my Engram before I came to Night City. And why I had you and the rest of our family create one for themselves. Death cannot defeat our family now. We will bring this crumbling world into a new era.” He turned back to the window, crossing his hands behind his back.

“While Yuna handled the public campaign for the program, I had a division of her people create a subprogram. From what I have been told, the program is a success. I knew Militech would eventually stand against me, which is why I created not only a new evolution for humanity, but a new evolution of warfare.”

Saburo waved his hand, pulling up a holoscreen that was displaying the inside of a factory of some sort. Hanako tentatively moved forward to see it. And what she saw was terrifying.

Rows upon rows of identical beings marched off an assembly line. They looked like mannequins, with stark white skin, sexless bodies, and flat, formless faces. As the images progressed, Hanako saw each being outfitted with a neural processor, in the back of their heads.

“This, dear daughter, is the future. Each contains the Engram of a Special Forces Arasaka soldier. A highly processed Engram designed for utter obedience. If one of them falls, we simply create another and reupload the Engram. Therefore, they need no training, no indoctrination. Only orders. When Militech strikes, we shall be ready.”

Hanako could only look on in horror. When she was working to get her father back, she had no idea that he was planning all this. It made her sick to her stomach. _What have I done?_

[-]

When Viktor prescribed V her first bottle of cyberpsycho pills, she dutifully listened to his instructions and took them under the watchful eye of Judy. One pill every eight hours, with food if possible. V had to admit, if anything they seemed to calm her headaches. Or maybe that was just a placebo effect. In any case, taking them made Judy happy, which in turn made V happy.

Judy insisted on V staying in her apartment and resting, to which V staunchly refused. Whatever happened to her, she would not see herself die helpless in a bed.

The two lovers had moved all of their belongings to V’s apartment in Megabuilding H10, which was conveniently just down the street from Viktor’s clinic. As much as they appreciated Viktor and Misty’s hospitality and care, they didn’t want to impose on them any more than was necessary. Hence, the move. It was from there that their search began.

For the rest of the day, Judy could be seen pacing the length of the apartment, constantly on the phone with her old BD and Mox associates, trying to track down a specialist in bio-neural science. From her desk, V wrapped up everything she could with her fixers over Vidcall, since most of them had left the Afterlife and returned to their respective lives after V’s dramatic exit. For the time being, she was leaving Weyland in charge of the Afterlife, where he and Claire would coordinate jobs for the mercs currently under her payroll. Which V was surprised to find out, were quite numerous. 

Swiping through the vast amounts of data associated with running the Underground of Night City, V couldn’t help but think of Rogue. She realized she still hadn’t quite processed her death. Since Johnny had been in control during the raid on Arasaka, she hadn’t technically witnessed Rogue’s final moments. Considering all the death she’d seen in the past several weeks, maybe that was a good thing. 

Rogue had been one hell of a woman. One of the very, very few people who could shut both her and Johnny up with a look. She had been Queen of the Afterlife for over 45 years, and changed Night City, for better or worse, more than once. V couldn’t help but be awestruck at such a powerful, influential figure. Despite everything he did to her, V couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Johnny. Witnessing one of his past flames and good friends die before his eyes was something V wouldn’t wish on anyone. She still felt the pain of losing Jackie in that limo, which felt like a lifetime ago, but was really only a month. She feared that that wound would never close, as long as she lived. V cringed, hard. She would soon be subjecting her precious Judy to that pain, and she couldn’t stand it.

V slammed her fist into the desk in anguish. Judy was over to her instantly, worry in her eyes. 

“Hey, what’s wrong Val?” she asked.

V clenched her fist harder and grit her teeth. “Jackie. Rogue. Takemura. Johnny. Now me. Why is death so fucking unfair!” she yelled, slamming the desk again. And again. And again.

Judy grabbed V’s hand and pulled it down to her side, before hugging her close from behind.

“It’s not something we can control Valerie. I know it’s unfair, believe me. I know.”

V sighed heavily, leaning back into Judy. Judy leaned down and kissed V softly, sweetly, trying to convey her emotions into action. V melted into the kiss, turning in her chair to properly face her girlfriend. What initially began as innocent affection, quickly gained intensity. V pulled Judy’s face closer, raveling her fingers in her pink-green hair. She pulled softly, and Judy moaned into her mouth. V felt sharp tendrils of anticipation start to slither their way from her chest to her abdomen at the sound. She wanted more. _Needed_ more.

V pulled away with a soft pop, and stared into Judy’s heavily dilated brown eyes, wild with emotion. V smirked, before jumping out of her seat and pulling Judy by her hand to the bed. V kissed her again, running her hands achingly slowly up Judy’s hips, to her sides, to the undersides of her breasts. She heard Judy’s breath hitch at the contact, and leaned in to lightly lick Judy’s ear.

“I never got to return the favor from earlier,” V whispered directly into her shaking girlfriend’s ear, referencing their shower escapade only hours before. V playfully pushed Judy back onto the bed, before reaching down and ever so slowly pulling her own shirt up over her head. Judy could only watch helplessly, like a deer watching a panther stalk it down.

V, now topless, lowered herself to her knees, and began playing with the buckle of Judy’s belt, pointedly avoiding the spot of her girlfriend’s obvious arousal. Judy whimpered at the feigned contact.

In one sudden motion, V whipped the belt from around Judy’s waist, and started on her pants. V snapped the button at the top open, then inched the zipper down. Grabbing onto the hem of the pants, V pulled, dragging her nails down Judy’s thighs as she did so. Judy only shivered in delight, biting her lip in anticipation. Once Judy’s pants were tossed aside, leaving her in just her panties and crop top, V aimed herself at her prize. She took one finger, and put it in her mouth for a few seconds, thoroughly coating it in her saliva. Pulling it out with a pop, she started tracing a line from below Judy’s heaving ribcage, down past her belly button, over her abdomen, then down, down, down…

A sudden aggressive pounding at the door made both girls nearly jump out of their skin.

“V, I know you’re in there!” came a very familiar female voice. “If you don’t open the door in five goddamn seconds, I’m breaking it down! 1, 2…”

V rose to her feet, and brought her finger to her lips, indicating Judy to stay quiet. Then, with a smirk and a cheeky wink, she sauntered over to the door, still completely topless. It was only at the last moment that Judy realized what was happening, her brain still hazy with lust, and her jaw dropped in shock.

“Wait, Val…”

“5!” V opened the door right as the counting ending, to reveal Panam Palmer, her foot raised ready to kick the door in. At the sight of a half-naked V, Panam’s face instantly morphed from anger to joy to shock to sheer mortification, all in the span of a few seconds. Her unbalanced body caused her to fall backwards onto her butt. Behind her, Mitch Anderson was hunched over, nearly crying from laughter.

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST V, PUT A FUCKING SHIRT ON!” Panam screamed from the ground, covering her eyes with her arms. Mitch was now rolling around on the ground, Judy had her shaking head in her hands, and V was grinning the widest smile she’d had in weeks.

[-]

After everyone had calmed down, and V and Judy had their clothes back on, the two Aldecaldos joined the two lovers in V’s tiny apartment. Panam and Judy were still red with embarrassment and Mitch was still chuckling every time he looked at Panam. V could tell Panam was trying to be angry, and ultimately failing because of how flushed her face was.

V had gotten everyone a drink from her in-unit vending machine, before plopping down on the couch next to Judy, who still wasn’t looking anyone in the eye. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they had been doing, and Judy, still somewhat uncomfortable around strangers and still pretty horny, didn’t know how to handle the situation. V was completely relaxed, one arm tossed around Judy’s shoulders.

“I don’t think you’ve all met,” V said, addressing the room. Looking at Judy, she gestured across the table at the two nomads. “This is Panam Palmer and Mitch Anderson, from the Aldecaldos, and two of my best chooms.”

V squeezed Judy closer to her, and turned to the nomads. “And this, is my lovely, sweet, amazing, badass girlfriend Judy Alvarez.”

Judy was still staring holes into the carpet, but managed out a soft “Hey.”

Mitch stretched out his hand across the table, taking Judy’s in a firm handshake. “Good to meet you Judy,” he said. “Glad to know V’s got someone special in her life.”

Judy finally raised her eyes to meet his, and gave him a meek smile. Panam, on the other hand, was staring at Judy with an odd intensity that V couldn’t quite pin down. It was...wariness? Distrust? Almost...jealousy? Panam gave a short nod at the introduction before turning her attention to V, her expression now furious.

“Well, V. I wanna know what we were supposed to think when we don’t hear from you for days, then we hear about another break-in at Arasaka that _specifically_ mentioned an Afterlife mercenary _named V_ , then we _still_ don’t hear anything! What, are we just supposed to assume that your perfectly stubborn, thick-skulled, trouble magnet self is just waltzing through the daisies? No! We were fucking _terrified_ V! How could you even _think_ to do something that stupid without help? Without asking us? We all told you we’d go to hell and back for you, so why did you go into one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the whole goddamn city _all by your fucking self_?!How _stupid_ can one person get?”

Panam was panting from the force of her words. V looked absolutely torn apart, the guilt clear on her face. But Panam wasn’t done.

“Then we have to hear from fucking _Dakota_ of all people that you were at the Afterlife _yesterday_? That you were doing just fucking fine, and you _still_ didn’t think to call us?”

Panam now had tears rolling from her eyes from the strength of her emotions. V rose from her seat, going to sit next to her friend, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

“We thought you were fucking _dead_ ,” Panam moaned, burying her face in V’s shoulder and clutching her arm. “You fucking asshole,” she mumbled, before finally falling silent. V rubbed soothing circles in the nomad’s back, slowly bringing her down from the outburst.

“I’m sorry, Panam. I’m truly sorry I didn’t tell you guys what I was up to. I just couldn’t have any more of my friends die for me, so I went in with only a three-man merc crew. But we got what we came for. We got the relic chip out of my head.”

Panam leaned up to meet V’s eyes, while angrily wiping at her own. “You should’ve come to us,” she raged halfheartedly. “You should’ve come to your family for help.”

V cupped the older woman’s cheek. “I wasn’t going to see a single one of my family die in that tower,” she said with finality. “You mean too much to me to take that risk.”

Panam slumped, her infamous reserves of energy seeming to finally desert her. She sighed. “Well, you’re back now, and in one piece. That’s all we can really ask for.”

Mitch nodded in agreement, resting his hand over V’s. “She’s right, kid. We were worried sick. Half of us wanted to go after you, while the other half wanted to kick your face in for leavin’ us behind.”

V smirked a little at that. 

“But you’re back now, and you’re ok, which is what really matters.” He gave her a warm smile, which V gladly returned. It then fell from her face as she remembered her true fate. 

V stood back up, giving Panam’s shoulder one last squeeze, before returning to her seat beside Judy. The BD girl had stayed silent throughout the exchange, but took V’s hand as she sat down, giving it a reassuring squeeze. V heaved a deep sigh.

“To tell you the truth,” she said, addressing the two nomads. “I’m not alright.”

Panam and Mitch sat up straighter at that, worry darkening their expressions.

“The relic chip was in my head too long, and has permanently altered my neural pathways. The chip was basically coding my brain to host Johnny. Now it’s more him than me, and my own body is treating my consciousness as an invader. It’s attacking my brain.”

V bit her lip. This was getting harder to tell with every iteration.

“Viktor, my ripperdoc, gave me a few weeks to a few months to live, depending on the progression of my neural degeneration.”

There, it was out, again. V risked a glance at the nomads, and what she saw only broke her heart further. Disbelief, sadness, rage, and grief plagued their faces. Mitch was the first to find his voice again.

“So the chip messed up your brain, and you’ve got anywhere from a few weeks to a few months left? And there’s no way to fix it?”

V shook her head. Judy, for the first time, spoke up.

“Nothing yet, but we’re still looking, and we’ll keep looking until we find a cure,” she said confidently. “I’m not gonna let her go. I can’t. And I won’t. We’re gonna fight this, no matter what it takes.”

Panam looked at Judy in a new light. Perhaps she wasn’t completely certain of Judy’s intentions at first, but that vanished with her declaration.

“And we’re gonna help you look, right Pan?” said Mitch, nudging his companion. Panam stared V straight in the eyes, her look turning to one of diehard determination.

“Yes. By God, we’re gonna fix you V. Whatever it takes.”

[-]

The four companions spent the next hour talking through possible solutions to V’s ailment, from the somewhat doable to the absolutely impossible. Nothing seemed to stick, though, and V eventually moved the conversation to other topics. 

V told the Aldecaldos about her fateful mission, waking up at Viktor’s, and becoming the new Queen of the Afterlife. Mitch and Panam shared their updates on the Basilisk tank, moving the camp north, and the recent Raffen raids. Judy shared her inclination towards all things tech, and her work on BDs. She also shared a new project she’d been working on, a BD that would meld consciousnesses together, allowing multiple users to share the effects of a BD at the same time. V remembered how Judy had used a prototype of that technology on their swim together. It was how she was able to hear Judy’s memories. Mitch brought up the similarity of her work and how Basilisk pilots link their minds to properly operate the massive machine, and within seconds the two were talking shop, completely losing Panam and V.

V was glad the nomads were getting along with her girlfriend. She would’ve been crushed if the two most important parts of her life negatively clashed. Panam had moved to sit next to V after Judy and Mitch had gone all technical. The two women sat quietly, each watching their own best friend be unabashedly animated and passionate. Panam awkwardly cleared her throat.

“You really love her, don’t you?” she said, more as a statement than a question. Panam knew V wore her heart on her sleeve, that’s what drew her to the mercenary in the first place. And the way V was looking at Judy was blatantly obvious.

“Yep,” said V. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” She looked over at Panam teasingly. “Besides you, of course.”

“Oh quit it you gonk,” said Panam, playfully shoving V with her shoulder. “You already tried before, remember? I just don’t swing that way.”

Panam recalled that night in the sandstorm, and that little shack they stopped at to take shelter. V had come onto her then, and Panam had denied her. Several times in a row, as a matter of fact. At the time, she couldn’t see V as anything other than a best friend. A sister, even. Romance was never even in the picture for her. But looking at V now, as she gazed at that Mox girl with an intensity beyond her understanding, she couldn’t deny an attraction, a longing.

V was daring, funny, beautiful, caring, brave, and loyal to a fault. She was the type of person to fling herself in front of a bullet for someone, then riddle the accuser with holes for even thinking about hurting someone close to her. V was everything Panam admired in a person, everything she looked for in a partner. Now, watching V and Judy together, she knew that that slim chance of them having something more had been lost in that sandstorm. But Panam realized she was ok with that. V was happy, and seeing her family happy was all Panam needed in her life.

After another few hours of hardcore tech word vomit, the friends decided to call it a night. Judy and V offered the couch to the two Aldecaldos, but they insisted they were fine, and needed to get back to the camp anyway. Everyone would be eager to know V was ok. They had promised not to share her ailment until V could tell them herself.

As the door shut behind them, V and Judy let themselves relax. 

“You and Mitch sure hit it off, huh?” said V teasingly. Judy only rolled her eyes. 

“Well, it was nice to have an intelligent conversation with a like-minded person,” she said. “For once,” she added with a smirk.

“Hey!” protested V, throwing a towel at Judy’s face. “I can be smart! Just, not _that_ smart.”

Judy walked up to V, giving her a long, lingering kiss. “I was just teasing, you know,” she said when they broke apart. V smiled.

“I know you goof,” she said. V kissed Judy again, bringing a thigh up to lightly brush Judy’s core. Judy’s breath hitched, her eyes going wide.

“We never finished what we started,” V whispered, a mischievous glint in her eye.

[-]

Johnny worked his way through the crowd of Corpo Plaza, occasionally getting odd looks from passersby. He didn’t know if it was because he’d just stepped out of a burning Arasaka tower, or if it was the Corpo face he was wearing. Probably a bit of both, he decided.

He ducked into a clothing shop down the street, intent on getting out of this suit and into something more comfortable. How Corpo’s can wear this monkey shit, he’ll never understand. To his dismay, the clerk at the counter seemed to recognize him. And not in a good way.

“M-Mr. Gallagher, sir. W-what are you doing in here?” stuttered the clerk nervously.

Johnny perused the displays around him, slightly annoyed at the selections. Though it was partly his fault for choosing a shop so close to Corpo Plaza.

“Need a new look,” he said. “Got anything along the lines of Urban Flash? Maybe with a noir flair?”

The clerk looked thoroughly confused, but escorted Johnny to the other side of the store, where displays of popping color, leather, fur and denim were standing. Johnny scanned for a minute, before landing on a mannequin with Militech combat boots, black biker pants, a grey tank top with a cartoon ghost on it, a pair of Rayfield aviators, and a black, spiked leather jacket. He smiled.

“I’ll take this,” he said to the clerk.

“Which piece?” asked the clerk hesitantly.

“All of it,” Johnny replied. 

After retrieving the right sizes from the back, the clerk allowed Johnny to change into the new outfit, before meeting him at the counter.

“How much?” Johnny asked. Somehow, the clerk seemed to get even more nervous, verging on outright terror.

“It is already taken care of, Mr. Gallagher, sir. Do you need me to bring up the contract you sent us?”

Johnny was confused, but took it in stride. “No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you, though.”

The clerk, now looking absolutely bewildered, only nodded. Johnny strolled out the door, leaving the very confused and now relieved clerk behind.

Once outside, he stopped to look himself over in the mirrored window of the shop. “Not bad,” he said to himself. Thinking back to his whole ‘blend in’ plan, he decided to ditch the Aerondight parked down the street. As nice as it was, it was way over the top, even for this part of town. Leaving it behind was the logical thing to do, even though it pained him to do so. Instead, he hailed a cab, and hopped into the back of it.

“Afterlife, please,” he told the AI.

“Right away Mr. Gallagher, and thank you for choosing the Delamain service. Your premium package has been activated.”

As the cab pulled away, Johnny watched as people rushed to and fro between shops and buildings. How nice it would be to be as blissfully ignorant as these people, he thought to himself. 

It wasn’t until the cab was on the bridge between City Center and Watson that the AI driver spoke again. And what it said was not good news.

“Apologies sir, but an unknown aggressor has missile lock on us. Please brace yourself as I take evasive action.”

“What the fu-” muttered a very confused Johnny, just as the world exploded.


	5. Part 1: Return, Chapter 5

** Another Choice **

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 5**

[-]

Johnny came to slowly. His head felt like it was full of jelly, and his ears were ringing so loud it was all he could hear. The world slowly came into focus, shrouded with smoke and confusion. Through the ringing, he could barely make out screams, and a closer, louder voice, right in front of him. Who was it?

“...under attack, would you like to deploy countermeasures? Sir, we are under attack, would you like to deploy countermeasures?” Sir, we are u-u-u-under-”

The voice abruptly cut off.

“Client unable to respond, deploying countermeasures now.”

Johnny was slammed into the back of his seat as the cab suddenly took off. As his muddled brain started to reboot, he noticed where he was. The cab was still on the bridge to Watson, driving like a bat out of hell. It weaved its way expertly through traffic and running people as only an AI could. It continued to speak in its calm, customer-service oriented voice.

“As a user of our Platinum Package, your fare includes our state-of-the-art defense systems. Rest assured, your safety is our number one priority.”

A hail of gunfire pounded against the cab, the bullets cracking and shattering against the rear windshield, but the glass held together. Johnny looked behind him to see a MaxTac AV in pursuit, flying dangerously close to the bridge supports. It was flashing its red and blue strobe lights, while its mounted heavy machine gun continued to rain fire down on him.

“Change of plans,” Johnny said to the AI. “Get us out of here, however possible.”

“Excellent choice sir. Adjusting route parameters now.”

The cab made an abrupt turn as the bridge ended, heading up a tightly packed street. People were running and screaming as stray rounds from the MaxTac AV made miniature craters wherever they hit. The cab swerved onto a side street, where tightly packed buildings rose on each side. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief as the AV in pursuit shot up into the sky, unable to follow through the dense urban jungle. 

“Hostile breaking off, IR signal blocking initiated.” A small tray in the seat in front of him slid down, with a single datashard nestled in a cutout, illuminated with white light.

“I analyzed a tracking daemon being used on your signal,” said the AI. “This datashard will mask your electronic signal communications array. Please insert the chip into your bio-reader.”

Johnny took the chip and slotted it into the reader behind his ear. Some static appeared in his field of vision, before the message ‘Signal Suppression Interface Activated’ appeared.

“Huh, thanks,” he said. AI’s usually made him uneasy, but he couldn’t complain when one saves your life.

“My pleasure sir. Now that your unfortunate event has ended, what is your desired destination?”

Johnny was about to say The Afterlife, when the MaxTac AV suddenly dropped down right in front of the cab. The cab screeched to a halt, and Johnny stared up at the hovering, armored murder machine warily. _Of all the ways to go, it just had to be MaxTac,_ he thought, annoyed.

The AV was just dropping down its weapons systems, when a EMP grenade exploded off to its side. The blast caught one of the engines, which started spraying blue sparks and fire. The AV started spinning as its other engine attempted to compensate for the loss in lift. Off to the side, a large group of what looked like Maelstrom thugs were yelling and waving their weapons in the air, firing haphazard shots at the armored craft. The cab suddenly accelerated, slamming Johnny into the back of his seat. It was fully intent on taking advantage of the distraction. As he tore off down the road, Johnny looked back to see the AV slam into the ground, where the Maelstrom gang members started to swarm over it.

“Goddamn, never thought I’d be saved by a talking cab and a cyberpsycho gang in the same day,” he said to himself.

“Hostile eliminated by third-party intervention,” said the AI. “Apologies for the interruption sir. Please state your desired destination.”

“The Afterlife!” Johnny practically screamed. Jesus Christ, it was like being stuck in one of V’s escapades all over again, only this time he had a crazy talking AI cab instead of a suicidal merc.

“Right away sir, and thank you again for choosing the Delamain service.”

Johnny only sighed heavily.

The remainder of the short ride to the merc bar was mercifully uneventful, thank Christ. When the cab finally stopped outside the entrance, Johnny leapt out of the car as fast as he could. A notification in the corner of his HUD informed him that the fare for the ride had been automatically transferred from his account, and a contact number for future services was attached. Taking the stairs down, he saw the usual bouncer out in front of the famous bar’s doors. But all the lights were shut off, and there wasn’t a line.

“Afterlife’s closed until further notice,” said the bouncer, holding up a hand to stop Johnny. Johnny slowly turned his head to acknowledge the huge man.

“And why the fuck is it closed?” he said through gritted teeth. 

The bouncer frowned. “That’s none of your business, Corpo. Now scram before I make ya scram.”

Johnny clenched his jaw, willing his temper down. “Need to speak to Weyland.”

The bouncer lifted one, heavy eyebrow. “And how is it you be knowin’ Mr. Weyland?”

“Worked with him before. I’m a friend of V’s.”

At the mention of V, the bouncer grunted. Then he raised a finger to his ear.

“Mr. Weyland, sir, got a Corpo here to see ya. Says he knows V.” A pause. “Yes, sir.” Another pause. “No, sir.” He looked up at Johnny. “What’s your name, Corpo?”

“Tell him it’s Johnny.”

The bouncer nodded. “Says his name is Johnny.”

Johnny crossed his arms and began tapping his foot in impatience. After another minute, the bouncer hung up, then pressed a code into the keypad in the door. It opened with an electronic click.

“In ya go,” he said to Johnny.

With a nod, Johnny entered the Afterlife. The bar was completely vacant, with very few lights on. The bartender, Claire if he recalled correctly, was behind the counter. She regarded him suspiciously as he entered.

“Hey numbskull, bar’s closed,” she called out to him. Then another voice from across the room overrode hers.

“It’s alright, Claire.”

Johnny looked to the source, to see Andrew Weyland in Rogue’s booth, at the back of the building. He strode over, with Claire scowling at his back. He stopped in front of Weyland, who was leaning back into his booth, a beer in one hand, and a double-barrel in the other, casually aimed at his head.

“Now tell me,” he said in his deep Jamaican accent. “Who ah ya really? ‘Cause da Silvahand is s’posed t’be dead.”

“It’s me, Weyland,” said Johnny, slipping into the booth across from the merc. “I’m Johnny. It’s kinda a long story, but to sum it up, I got some new digs.” He gestured at his own body. “Courtesy of Alt. I was there when Rogue died, I uploaded V into Mikoshi, and I got her body back. But I gotta see V, now. It’s important.”

Weyland lowered his shotgun, a stunned look on his face. “It really is you, Silvahand. Ha ha ha. You a Corpo now, eh? How you be getting’ a new body, huh?”

“Like I said, kinda a long story, which I’d like to discuss with V. Now, where is she?” Johnny said bitingly.

Weyland scratched his chin with the end of the shotgun thoughtfully. “Dropped her off at her rippa’s, not a half owa ago. Passed out cold, the poor girl. You be findin’ her there, Vikta’s Clinic, just down da road.”

“Thank you,” said Johnny, exasperated. He stood up and made his way for the exit.

“When you see her, tell her to give me a ring, yeah?” Weyland called after him. Johnny threw a thumbs up behind him, before pushing through the doors and out onto the street. Just then, because his luck was so fucking spectacular today, three MaxTac officers jumped out to surround him. They looked ragged, bloodied, their combat armor riddled with bullet holes. The leader raised his rifle, putting its laser right on Johnny’s forehead. 

“Times up, Gallagher,” he said with a crazed smile.

“Well, fuck,” Johnny said, right before the gunshot.

[-]

V awoke sluggishly. Something was pinning her left arm. She looked over to see what it was, only to find Judy’s peacefully sleeping face as the culprit. As the memories from the previous day flooded back, she smiled widely.

It was the first time in a long time she’d woken up in her own bed, in her own apartment, on her own volition. Lately, waking up came with side effects like gunshot wounds, memory loss, relic malfunction warnings obscuring her vision, or Johnny’s annoying ass voice saying ‘Wake up, Samurai. We’ve got shit to do.” It was also the first time she’d woken up in her own bed with someone she loved. And the feeling was indescribable. 

She leaned over, softly kissing her girlfriend’s forehead, before carefully climbing out of bed. Judy slept on, with a tiny, adorable snore V had never noticed before. She giggled silently behind her hand, before jumping into the shower.

As the hot water washed over her, V braced her hands against the shower wall, and began considering her options. There was nothing she desired more than grabbing the girl in her bed and running off to start a new life. But that was an impossibility in her current situation. What with her health, and her obligation to the Afterlife, which came with responsibilities she was wholly unfamiliar with. She was still wondering why Rogue would appoint her to the position, and not one of the other fixers or mercs she worked with on a daily basis. There were surely much more qualified, experienced people to take the job. Even though The Afterlife was the center of Night City’s underground, there were still good people out there who could make a difference in this city, like Jackie had always said. She smiled sadly to herself at that. Jackie would’ve been a nova King of the Afterlife. With his charisma and street smarts, he could’ve entered the mercenary trade into a new era. But he wasn’t here. She’d gotten him killed, stealing that thrice-damned relic. Which would end up killing her now, too.

She stared down at her feet, wishing she could talk to him, wondering what advice he’d give. Probably one of his infamous pep talks.

 _“Why the long face, Chica? Night City givin’ ya the blues again? Chin up, V. This is_ your _city now. You made it, all the way to the tippy top. You make the rules, and you break ‘em. Ain’t nothin’ gonna stop you now. So get out there and break some fuckin’ huevos.”_

She looked up at the ceiling, envisioning Jackie somewhere up there, looking down on her from wherever he was now. Would he be proud? Angry? She heaved a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry Jack. I’m so, so sorry. I wish we never stole that fucking relic. I wish you could be here with me.” She sniffled, and wiped at her face furiously. “It should’ve been you here, not me. You were always the smart one, the one with the plan. You could’ve solved all this shit in your sleep.” A single tear fell from her eye, being instantly swept away by the water. “Love you, Jackie. You’ll always be my _hermano_.”

A hand touched her shoulder, and V jumped, turning to see Judy stepping into the shower behind her.

“Talking to yourself again?” she asked teasingly. V shook her head.

“Talkin’ to Jackie,” V replied. Judy’s expression softened.

“Oh, I’ll leave you alone the-“

V grabbed Judy’s hand to keep her from leaving.

“We just finished,” she said, pulling her into a kiss. Judy’s presence and the hot water helped to calm her. When they broke apart, V had an idea.

“Think its time you met the parents,” she said. Judy’s eyebrows rose in confusion. 

“I feel like a visit to Mama Welles is in order,” she clarified. Judy’s somewhat panicked look made her laugh.

After a relaxing shower and breakfast from the vending machine, V called Mama Welles.

“V, _mija_! It is good to hear from you! I heard about the fiasco at Arasaka and was worried sick!”

“Si, Mama, I’m ok,” V replied. “I was wondering if you were busy later. Got someone I want you to meet.”

“For you, _querida_ , I have all the time in the world. Come over to the Coyote tonight, I’ll make your favorite _chilaquiles_. And bring your _alguien especial_ , I would love to meet them.”

V should’ve realized Mama Welles knew exactly who she wanted her to meet. “Sure thing Mama, see you then.”

V hung up, tossing her phone onto the couch. Judy had already left, going to fetch a few things from her own apartment while they stayed at V’s. V was just getting comfy, about to turn on the holo-tv when her phone rang. Thinking it was Mama Welles calling back, she picked it up with a cheerful “Hello?”

“V, got a job that needs doin’,” came the voice of Dino Donovic. “Some sleazebag’s got some incriminating data I need, and I want you to-“

“Not taking jobs right now D,” V said, cutting him off. “Try one of your local guys, let them have a crack at it. I’ve got too much on my plate right now.”

There was stunned silence for a few moments. V had never turned down a job before. 

“Uhhh, ok kid. I’ll do that. Good luck on your, uh, stuff. I guess.”

“You too D, talk to you later.”

He hung up, and V actually felt good about it. With how many eddies her fixers were wiring her every day, she was no longer living job-to-job. She realized that her life, besides her debilitating health, was stable for the first time in decades. It brought a peace to her heart she didn’t know was possible, or needed. Thinking about The Afterlife, though, made her realize she still had business to attend to.

Hopping up from the couch, she went over to her computer and fired it up. On it, she had a cool 52 messages and 20 files. She cringed internally, remembering her exit from the Afterlife just days ago. She opened the first message.

_Wanted: Dead or Alive. Sachiko Utsunabi. Reward: 14,500. Wanted on the charges of murder, money laundering, cage fighting, and human trafficking. Known associates are Sana Matsumoto and Ed Freeman. Known stronghold location is 37.000821, -122.059899. Proceed with caution, subject known to be heavily armed. Report findings to R. Jones, NCPD._

Swapping over to the files, V found the list of mercs under The Afterlife’s payroll. Each entry listed strengths and weaknesses, past jobs, specializations, and hiring costs. She selected several she deemed fit, and forwarded the hit to them. She proceeded to the next message.

 _Saboteur needed. Details: Retrieve datashard from the designated drop point, and upload to the designated uplink, located at_ REDACTED. _Confidentiality Certification Level 3 required. Reward: 37,500. Report to Mr. Hands._

Again, V went to the merc list, found the only two marked with CCL3, and forwarded the message onto them. Assigning jobs wasn’t actually so hard, she decided.

She continued to work for the next several hours. Judy had come back at some point and was doing her own thing on her portable terminal, mentioning something about cyberspace surgeons. Still searching. Before either of them knew it, 6PM had rolled around and Mama Welles was calling V, telling her to come over whenever she was ready.

The two went down to the garage and immediately started debating on who should drive. Judy still felt like she should drive, in case V had another episode, but V countered that Judy was her guest this time around and she should drive. Judy finally relented, and they hopped into V’s modified Quadra Avenger.

“Nice wheels, Val,” Judy said after an appreciative whistle. V could only grin.

“I do like to go fast, as you know oh so well,” she said with a wolfish grin. Judy’s cheeks colored instantly as she began to gnaw on a fingernail, knowing full well what that meant. With a laugh, V launched out of the garage towards the El Coyote Cojo.

After half an hour of the typical horrendous traffic, they were welcomed at the bar by Mama Welles herself. As V got out, Mama Welles pulled her into a tight hug. Judy watched from the other side of the car, finally witnessing V and one of the most important people in her life. V had told her many stories of her’s and Jackie’s escapades over the past year. She’d even told her how he’d died, after stealing the Arasaka relic chip, right from under the nose of the heads of the corporation. She’d regularly called him her brother, her _hermano_ , family. Mama Welles, Jackie’s mother, had taken V in like a daughter. Judy felt a traitorous stab of jealousy at the obvious love exhibited before her. She had to remind herself she got to keep her parents a lot longer than V had, and didn’t have it nearly as bad. But still, she missed her parents desperately.

After a few moments with V, Mama Welles caught sight of Judy, leaning on V’s car. The older woman beckoned her over.

“And who is this _flor hermosa_ , V? Is she your _novia especial_?”

Judy awkwardly walked up, clutching her right arm with her left hand, her eyes darting between V and Mama Welles. V pulled her into a side hug when she was close enough, and nudged her on.

“ _Si, Senora Welles. Soy_ Judy, _la novia de_ V.” Judy took the older woman’s hand in a gentle handshake.

“ _Bienvenidos_. It is good to meet you, Judy,” Mama Welles replied with a wide smile. She turned to V. “ _No mencionaste lo hermosa que era_. You did not mention how beautiful she was.”

Judy flushed as V leaned in and grabbed a chaste kiss from her. “Wanted you to see for yourself,” V replied to Mama Welles. The older woman nodded approvingly, before beckoning them inside.

“I made my _especial chilaquiles_ for you two, your favorite V.”

V leaned over to whisper in Judy’s ear. “Hope you’re hungry, she cooks like she’s about to feed an army.”

Judy’s night was spent in the cozy, festive bar, in a private alcove, laughing along with V and Mama Welles’ stories. Her belly was full of good beer and excellent food. V hadn’t been kidding, the old woman had cooked up a storm. There were platters of enchiladas, rice and beans, stuffed peppers, tortillas, and of course, piping hot chilaquiles smothered with red sauce. Judy couldn’t think of a single time where she had eaten better. As the food steadily disappeared, the conversation turned to Judy.

“So, V, how did you meet your lovely _novia_?” asked Mama Welles, smiling kindly at Judy.

“Well, I was in need of a BD tech, for a job I was doin’,” said V. She took Judy’s hand in her own. “Found this one in the basement of a bar downtown, running her own little side biz. After she helped me, she called in her own favor a little while later. We worked through that fiasco, and then she convinced me to do something I never thought I would. A nice, cold, terrifying dive into the ocean.”

Mama Welles eyes widened at that. “I thought you hated the water, V,” she said.

“I did,” said V. She pulled Judy closer to her. “But I’d do anything for this one. Anything.” 

V smiled lovingly down at Judy, who currently had her mouth full with a stuffed pepper. V giggled at the adorable sight.

“I see a strong bond between you two,” said Mama Welles knowingly. “A bond like you had with my Jackie. Don’t let this one go V. You deserve happiness too.”

As they were getting ready to leave, Judy watched as V went over to the shrine in the corner of the bar. The table there was covered with flowers, pictures, and mementos for Jackie. V stood there for a minute or two, before beckoning Judy over. Judy went to stand beside V, who had her eyes closed and was breathing deeply.

“Heya Jack. Wanted you to meet Judy. She’s my girlfriend, and a killer BD tech. You would like her, she’s got your weird sense of humor. I’m gonna make sure someone keeps an eye on Mama, make sure she’s doing ok. Hope you’re doing well wherever you are. See ya soon, choom.”

V opened her eyes, and gazed into Judy’s. Judy pulled her into a gentle embrace, knowing full well the feelings coursing through V right then, and how nothing could stop them.

[-]

Hanako Arasaka had been pacing the floor of her office for hours now. She was still heavily conflicted about her father’s plans. The cloned soldiers were horrifying to say the least, and the notion of another Corpo War weighed heavily on her heart. She’d seen the aftermath and devastation of the last one. Seen the memorials, the documentaries, the interviews. She was sure that another war, on an even larger scale, would finally doom the earth and humanity. Once and for all. She loved her company still, though she knew of the corruption and deceit that lay at the heart of it. But if defying her father and her company meant stopping a war, then so be it. She would not have the history books speak of her as the villain.

Thinking of possible contingencies, her mind ultimately came to Save Your Soul. Saburo’s Engram was fully engrained in his son, Yorinobu. But he had a backup copy stored in Save Your Soul in case his physical body failed. Hanako regularly saw her father speaking with the Engram copy for advice, something that was terribly risky. The Engram could only be outside of its stasis for minutes at a time, lest it start to degrade. Hanako’s cousin Yuna had developed a way to keep Engrams from deteriorating, but they had to be in stasis and inaccessible for it to work. 

To prevent war, Saburo had to step down. How that would happen remained vague. Militech’s CEO had been the one to demand it, but she was fairly certain he meant death, not simple resignation, give their history in the last conflict. So to prevent war, Saburo would have to die, and Hanako would be a part of it. It would be a coup, plain and simple. Something she would’ve never thought herself capable of but was planning even now.

Hanako oversaw the Engram copy of her father, but her cousin Yuna oversaw the entire program. To shut down Saburo, both his physical and cyber copies would need to be wiped. Unfamiliar with the technical aspects of the groundbreaking technology, Hanako would need Yuna. She wasn’t sure if Yuna would agree to help her, though she knew of a few reasons that rested in her favor. 

Yuna had been sexually harassed and assaulted by Yorinobu when she was a child. The poor girl was 20 years his junior, and became the victim so very easily. Being as powerful as he was, Yorinobu was able to keep it covered up, to a degree. But not from his own sister. Hanako had discovered the crime, but didn’t report it, lest his rage come down on her, too. And Saburo, uncaring as always, didn’t raise a finger to stop it either. Hanako also knew Yuna had been forced into her current position in R&D by both her father and uncle. Yuna had told her many times how she wanted a simple life, and to raise a family. But that was stripped of her dream when she went to work for Arasaka, her genius-level intellect desired over her own needs.

Her mind made up, Hanako immediately went to find her cousin. She wasn’t picking up her phone, and she wasn’t in her personal rooms. It wasn’t until Hanako made her way up to the Save Your Soul laboratory that she found her. Yuna Arasaka, the one person who could stop the war, was lying near lifeless on a cot, her mind in a cyber-induced coma. And the last of her hope vanished.


	6. Part 1: Return, Chapter 6

** Another Choice **

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 6**

[-]

Johnny’s Sandevistan processor reacted before his brain could even process the situation. It was tuned to detect combat, and slow time relative to the user in case of an attack. An immense amount of heat erupted in Johnny’s head, as the processor forced his cybernetics into overdrive. The bullet that had been coming straight for his face was now moving slow enough to dodge. Johnny wrenched his head to the side as the projectile whizzed by his nose, just an inch away. As quickly as time slowed, it ramped back up to full speed again, and Johnny was left staring at a shocked MaxTac officer.

Johnny moved in quickly, grabbing the officer’s rifle and pulling, landing a punch on the man as he was yanked forward. He collapsed to the ground as the force behind Johnny’s titanium reinforced bones knocked him out. The other officers brandished shock batons and started circling Johnny warily. Johnny loosened his monowire, tensely waiting for an opening. One of the officers suddenly lunged, and Johnny sidestepped to throw the man against his colleague. The two went down in a tangle of limbs, cursing and shouting. Johnny slung out the full length of the monowire, its yellow glow leaving a trail of afterimages across his vision. The two officers came at him again, alternating attacks with their batons as only the highly trained MaxTac could. Johnny was able to block several blows from connecting, but a few still found their mark, leaving behind burning electric pain at contact. Unfamiliar still with the whip-like style of the monowire, Johnny was operating on pure instinct, ducking and dodging and trading sloppy punches between the cracks of the monowire, his attention focused solely on the two officers engaging him. So it was entirely his fault when a bullet tore through his chest.

The fight ended abruptly, the attacking officers backing off. Johnny stared down at the hole in the center of his chest, leaking blood down his shirt, then turned to look behind him in shock. The first officer who he had knocked out had regained his bearings, and was holding his discarded rifle, its barrel smoking. As the man hauled himself to his feet, Johnny fell to his knees, an odd numbing sensation spreading through his limbs. He felt the barrel of the rifle press against the back of his head.

“Times up, Gallagher,” the officer sneered.

Johnny was furious that he let himself be surprised. Now he was gonna die for nothing, to a squad of fucking MaxTac. Gritting his teeth, he awaited the shot. Which came just a second later, but not from the rifle at his head.

The body of the officer about to execute him flew backwards, the entirety of his head above the jaw disappearing in a spray of red. Weyland and Claire had emerged from the stairs, each brandishing a shotgun. As Weyland dispatched the other two officers, Claire was rushing over to Johnny. She was saying something, but he couldn’t make it out over the rushing in his ears. The last thing he remembered before passing out was the sharp jab of an airhypo in his chest, before darkness enveloped him.

[-]

V was pissed. She was having that sort of day where nothing would go right. It began with minor inconveniences, then just ramped up from there. For one, Judy wasn’t there when she woke up that morning, having left a vague text about some stuff she had to do. But that was quickly pushed to the side as her headaches flared up again with a vengeance. For another, she couldn’t find her phone, even after half an hour of searching. 

Unable to deal with the pain in her head, she tried to drive to Victor’s for more pills, but that was quickly shut down when she found her car tires stolen. It took an hour of arguing with the Megabuilding security manager to bring up the footage of the theft, only to reveal a bunch of hoodlums in dark clothing and masks. Then it took another hour on the payphone with the insurance adjustor to have them replaced. To top it all off, just now, she’d received an email that two of her Afterlife mercs had been killed in a gang territory gunfight in Pacifica, the one region she’d _specifically_ been denying jobs to. 

She was so frustrated she could scream. Life couldn’t take it easy on her, even now as her body was dying. She didn’t even notice as the door to her apartment opened, until she heard Judy’s voice. And another unfamiliar one alongside it. She turned away from her computer to see Judy standing next to an unfamiliar woman. She was clearly Mox, with the loose non-color-coordinated clothing and neon hair. But the way she was laughing with and grinning at and _holding_ onto _her_ girlfriend made the day’s rage boil over.

“Where the fuck were you all day?!” V shouted angrily. Judy pulled up short, never having heard the tone of voice V now had. The other woman kept on fawning over Judy.

“And who the fuck is this?” V continued, gesturing at the mystery woman.

The woman finally looked up to regard V. “’Scuse me, bitch, ain’t nobody be talkin’ to me or my girl like that.”

“ _Your girl?!”_ V practically screamed. “She’s _mine!_ Now get your fucking hands off her and get the fuck out of my apartment before I-“

Judy rushed to intervene, moving between the two shouting women. 

“Zanya, go wait outside. Let me take care of this.”

The woman huffed in indignation, but spun on her heel and left the apartment anyway. Judy turned to V, anger evident on her face.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

V spun away from her. “What do you think is wrong with me? You come in here with some slutty Joy Toy hanging off you, and this is _my_ fault?”

Judy scoffed at that. “Is your ego really that fragile, to think I’d cheat on you with a Joy Toy, or anyone else for that matter? After everything I’ve done for you?”

V clutched at her head, the pain inside flaring to almost unbearable levels. 

“Ye-no. Maybe-fuck! I don’t know!” V slumped onto the couch, her legs giving way. “It’s just…just…”

Judy moved to stand in front of V, staring down at her with an icy glare.

“Just what?” Judy spat.

“I thought I was losing you!” V suddenly blurted. Judy looked surprised at that. V kept going.

“I thought that you were already giving up on me, moving on. I know I’m a lost cause, but you still stick around, and I don’t know why. Judy, you could have anyone in the world, but you chose me. I need you, so much, and I couldn’t stand the thought of you leaving now.”

Judy sat down beside V, taking her hand in her own. “You know that isn’t true, Valerie.”

V flinched at the use of her full name, guilt now taking hold of her heart. 

“I’ve told you already, I’m not leaving you. No matter what. Even if you die…” Judy screwed up her face, trying not to break down. “Even if you die, I’ll still be here ‘til the last second. But that’s not gonna happen, ‘cause I’m not giving up, and neither should you. I need you as much as you need me Val, even if you don’t realize it.”

Now V felt even worse, accusing Judy of such a betrayal. Judy leaned over and squeezed V from the side, before hopping up and pulling V along with her.

“C’mon, I was setting something up for you. We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, V, promise.”

Stunned at Judy’s kindness, V could only follow. It was when they opened the door that they found Zanya, still standing outside, smoking a cigarette. V avoided the woman’s glare as Judy strolled up to her.

“C’mon Zanya, we’re taking this to The Afterlife. I’ll meet you at the car.”

Zanya rolled her eyes, but started down the stairs towards the elevator. Judy pulled V to a halt.

“So you gonna tell me who that is, or mmf-“

V’s question was lost as Judy kissed her fiercely. And all the pain and rage and frustration of the day seemed to melt away like smoke. V returned the kiss, desperately clutching Judy’s shirt. When they broke apart, Judy’s smile kicked the last of V’s worries out the door.

“It’s gonna be alright V. We’re gonna be alright.”

[-]

The ride to The Afterlife was informative, and somewhat tense. V learned that Zanya was an old Mox buddy of Judy’s. Judy didn’t mention the fact that they dated for a spell. Zanya was a neuropathy specialist, and had helped Judy develop some of her BD tech, and vice versa. Apparently, Judy and Zanya had devised a way for a BD rig to read brain activity in real time, and detect early cases of various brain diseases, while providing accurate timings for the stages of the disease. While still a prototype, Judy thought the device could tell them exactly how long V had, and give them a set deadline. V wasn’t sure she even wanted to know.

V told Judy about her terrible day, which helped. Judy, as always, was very supportive. As it turned out, Judy had V’s phone, which was returned rather sheepishly. After V told her about the two mercs who got killed, Judy went silent for a while. Maybe it wasn’t such a good thing to mention dead mercs, when V herself was practically a walking corpse.

V was left wondering what Judy had put together for her, and if it was at The Afterlife. V still felt pretty guilty that Judy had gone out to do something to cheer her up, and to find more people to help her, as opposed to cheating or something else ridiculous.

As Judy pulled up to the bar, V noticed how dark and empty the street was. Apparently, the bar wasn’t open yet, which was strange for a weekend. There were still plenty of parked cars lining the sidewalk too, but no one in sight. Some of them looked familiar. Curious, V hopped out of the car and went down the stairs, to see Bronson in his usual spot.

“Evenin’, boss,” he said with a tip of his head. “They’re waitin’ inside for ya.”

He pushed the door open for her, as V tried to figure out who was there. Maybe the fixers were back for another meeting? As she turned the corner into the establishment, her throat suddenly went tight as she saw the people meandering about.

It was her friends, almost all of the people she cared about in the city. Mitch and Saul were in Rogue’s corner with Weyland. Viktor and Misty were at the bar with Claire. River and Panam were laughing together at a table. Even Kerry Eurodyne was there, leaning against a wall with a beer.

V didn’t know what to do. Never before had there been a gathering like this. She barely even noticed as Judy came up behind her, hugging her from behind.

“W-what-“ V stuttered, unable to get her brain to form words.

“Thought we could hang out and do some brainstormin’,” said Judy in her ear. “So I got the best of Night City together, for you. Wasn’t easy, had to nab your phone to find most of ‘em.”

V could only smile. A cry went up in the bar as everyone noticed V. She was suddenly enveloped in hugs and handshakes and pats on the back. V could barely hold onto Judy’s hand through the bulk of it, but her heart felt a thousand times lighter than it did that morning.

When everyone settled down and drinks were distributed by Claire, V was able to take the stage.

“Heard you got another problem kid,” said Kerry with a smirk. “Didn’t you _just_ fix the last one?”

V stuck her tongue out at him. “You know me, I’m just a magnet for disaster.”

“So what’s really going on then, V?” River asked. V noticed how he was still sitting next to Panam. Laughing internally, she wondered if that would go anywhere.

With a deep breath, V filled them all in on her situation. She went all the way back to the raid on Arasaka, Rogue’s death, her time in Cyberspace with Alt, her fight with Johnny, and up to waking up in her own body again.

“The thing is though,” she said. “That relic chip was in my head for so long, it rewrote my genetic code to fit Johnny’s conscience, not mine. I’m basically an invader in my own body. My immune system is attacking my brain, and pretty soon, it’ll finally give up. I’ve got maybe a month, possibly less.”

The bar was silent for a while after that, everyone taking in the information in their own way. Judy was the first one to speak up.

“We been lookin’ for ways to help V, but me and my friend here-“ she gestured to Zanya, “May be able to give us a set time limit. So we know exactly how long we have.

Zanya stepped forward, pulling a strange looking BD headset out of her jacket. It was bulky, with protrusions and attachments peppering its surface. Judy took it from her, and started setting it up on V’s head. Zanya took over on the explanation.

“We developed this to detect brain diseases, and to set timestamps on their stages of progression,” she said. “Jude thought that it could work on Miss Tightwad over here.”

Judy finished the preparations, and placed her hand gently on top of V’s head. 

“Ready V?” she asked.

“Yep,” V replied.

With that, Judy flipped a switch and the familiar blue light of a BD scroll filled V’s vision. Unlike a regular BD though, memories didn’t immediately render in. Rather, the wireframe cyberscape of a blank BD appeared. In the center of it, a progress bar was slowly ticking up. It only took a matter of seconds for it to complete, and as soon as it did, V was kicked out of the BD automatically.

Somewhat disoriented, she looked over to see Zanya and Judy hovering over a control pad. The look on Judy’s face was devastation, while Zanya’s was plain acceptance.

“22 days,” said Zanya flatly, “Until complete neural shutdown.”

Everyone seemed stunned at the news, even more so when they found out V was dying. Kerry turned to Viktor. “You’re a ripper, aint’cha? There nothin’ you can do for her?”

Viktor rubbed his hands together nervously. “We tried. I was looking through research documents for days, but this type of neural degeneration has never been seen before. The relic chip was a prototype, experimental technology. Only the creators of the-“

Viktor stopped suddenly, something clicking in his head. “Only the creators of the chip would know anything. If I could get my hands on the Save Your Soul research from Arasaka, maybe I could-“

“It’s no use,” V interrupted. “I already talked with Hanako Arasaka. She only knew about getting Johnny out, through Mikoshi.”

“What about a new chip?” Panam suggested. “If the one with Johnny’s conscience rewrote your body, what if we got a chip with your conscience on it, then slotted it in like the last one? Wouldn’t that override the changes the first one made?”

“It’s not a bad idea,” said Viktor. “But there are too many variables, risks. We’d need another experimental chip, then we’d need to get V hooked up to Mikoshi again, then we’d need someone from Arasaka who knows how to put Engrams onto those experimental chips. Even if we got all that, the sudden rewriting of genetic code could just as easily kill her as save her, with how her brain is currently. It’s all guesswork, since it’s all new tech. It would be easier just to get a new-“

“Body,” said a voice off to the side. Everyone turned, to see a tall, handsome man, in black leather clothing, clutching his side. Despite the clothing, the quality of his implants alone marked him as a Corpo. The entire room tensed, hands going for weapons.

“Who the fuck are you?” demanded V, leaping from her stool to confront the man.

“Nice to see you too, V.” said the man. V froze. The voice was different, but the intonation was terrifyingly familiar. The man then pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, sticking it in his mouth. “Got a light?”

V stepped back, shock plain on her face. “No, no no no no no, that’s impossible.” Kerry had the same expression on his face.

“Well I’ll be damned,” said Kerry. “It’s you, ain’t it?”

The man nodded. “’Sup, Kerry.”

Weyland had stood as well, and gestured at the man while looking at V.

“Dis man came inta da bar just days ago, claimin’ ta be da Silvahand. Proved it, too. Was lookin’ for ya, girl. Saved ‘im from da MaxTac bastauds, been here eva since.”

V was still in shock. When Johnny left her in Cyberspace, V was fully convinced she’d never see him again. Yet somehow, someway, he was here, in the body of some Corpo.

“Prove it,” she blurted out.

Johnny took a deep breath. Then he pointed at the dog tags around V’s neck, right next to DeShawn’s bullet. 

“Tags around your neck. Gave ‘em to you in the Pistis Sophia in Pacifica. Used to belong to a guy who gave his life for me in Mexico.”

V remembered that, waking up in that run down old hotel, the chip acting up so bad she could barely walk. She looked down at the tags. Engraved in the top of each, were the letters M. Gonzalez.

“His name was Martin Gonzalez,” Johnny continued. “When I gave those to you, I promised I’d let myself be wiped, so you could keep your body. Give my life for yours.”

V nodded, the insanity of the situation starting to settle.

“Well, Alt booted me back here, in the body of this Corpo bastard. Said I wasn’t good enough for Blackwall. And here you are, getting killed from my chip. Kinda backwards, wouldn’t ya say?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. “Point is, V, I got an out for you. Doc over there realized it too. We can get you a new body, like I got this one.”

From behind her, V could hear Judy gasp. Suddenly, she had a solution, a chance at life. And she was going to take it.

“Tell me everything,” V said, hope rising in her chest for the first time.

[-]

“Is he dead yet?” Grand demanded. He had just seen the news of a MaxTac AV going down somewhere in Watson, and called Graves immediately for an update.

“No, Sir, my men were ambushed by Maelstrom while in pursuit. I’ve lost contact since then, but backup is being sent to their last known location as we speak.

“I want you there _personally_ Graves, do you hear me? I want the fucking brat dead! NOW!”

“Yes sir,” Graves bit out. Then he hung up. The fucking Corpos were getting on his nerves again. He lost an entire squad over a fucking power struggle. From behind him, an officer approached.

“Sir, the backup squa-“

“Get my personal AV ready,” he barked, interrupting the man. “And mobilize Squad One. We’ve still got fuckers to flatline.”


	7. Part 1: Return, Chapter 7

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 7**

[-]

The bar was tense as everybody waited on Johnny’s answer. Johnny was scratching his chin, something he always did when he was thinking.

“Well, I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said. “Good news is there’s a body ready and waitin’ for ya V. Alt wiped the minds of all the Save Your Soul participants in Arasaka at the time we did our little breaking and entering. Don’t ask me how, I’ve got no fuckin’ clue. Called it her countermeasure in case we couldn’t integrate past the Blackwall.” He cursed under his breath. “Could’a told us that from the get-go, the bitch. Anyway, the body won’t deteriorate like yours is doing now, since there aren’t two consciences fighting it out in your head. It’ll be a clean upload.”

After a few moments of silence, V spoke up. “And the bad news?”

Johnny sighed. “Well, there’s a lot of bad news. First off, there’s only one body left. Alt killed the others when she wiped them. At the very least I got a guy and there’s a girl for you. Reintegration comes with a new body, new face, new everything ‘cept your personality and memories. Gonna feel weird, and gonna throw a lot of people off.”

Feeling uneasy now, V motioned for him to go on.

“Secondly, the body is in Arasaka Tower. That’s where I woke up, on the 70th floor, some sorta research lab for Save Your Soul. So, as fate would have it, you’re gonna have to break in there a third time to get it.”

At the look of utter indignation on V’s face, Johnny patted the air placatingly. “Good thing is, we technically don’t need Mikoshi, since we don’t need access to Blackwall. Just a Netrunner rig with enough juice. Should be several in the tower.” That didn’t seem to make V feel any better.

“Any other bad news?” V seethed through her teeth.

“Uh, yeah, unfortunately, there is. The body Alt wiped for you is an Arasaka. Yuna Arasaka.”

Dead silence. The word Arasaka put a heavy feeling of dread across every person in the room. Kerry’s eyes were darting around rapidly as he used a search function on his retinal scanner.

“Yuna Arasaka,” he said, breaking the silence. “Daughter of Toshiro Arasaka and niece of Saburo Arasaka. Head of Arasaka Corp’s R&D department and creator of the Save Your Soul program. Damn ironic.”

V’s headache was intensifying as she absorbed all this new information.

“So you’re telling me, the only real way to stop my body from killing itself, is to break into Arasaka _again_ , kidnap one of their board members, then throw my head into theirs?”

Johnny shrugged. “That’s basically the gist of it.”

V collapsed into a chair. There was no way she’d be able to infiltrate that damned tower again. Security would’ve been raised tenfold since Johnny got her into Mikoshi. Not to mention, every time she went in there, she lost a dear friend. First Jackie, then Rogue. She wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“No,” she said. “I won’t do it. There’s too much risk.” She turned to regard her friends. “I won’t jeopardize any of your lives, not for me.”

There was an uproar as every one of them contested her decision. But it was Judy’s voice that V heard most of all.

“No, you can’t give up, not when we’ve just found a solution!” she cried, running up to stand right in front of V, grabbing her shoulders in desperation.

“Do you see these people?” Judy asked, sweeping her hand out. “All of them came here because we wanted to help you. Even him,” she said, pointing at Johnny, “The fucker who almost killed you, is trying to help you. When are you gonna get it through your thick skull that we care about you more than you realize?”

V felt her resolve breaking as she stared into Judy’s eyes, so full of newfound hope.

“We’re gonna do this, and we’re gonna succeed. You know why? ‘Cause we need you V. I can’t imagine a world anymore where you’re not part of it. Don’t you dare make me live through your death again, got me?”

V pursed her lips, then slowly nodded. “I got you,” she whispered back, touching her forehead to Judy’s.

Panam leapt out of her seat, a crazy grin on her face. “You’re not gonna keep us in the dark this time, V,” she said, going to stand next to V and Judy, wrapping an arm around both of their shoulders. “’Cause we’ve got a plan.”

She motioned to Mitch, who was slotting a datashard into the central terminal. A hologram of recorded drone footage was then displayed.

“We were scoping out this area when you started mentioning Arasaka Tower a month ago,” he said. “It’s a construction site for a new transportation system into Corpo Plaza. They’ve got these massive drilling rigs, called SERCs, making tunnel systems underneath the city.” He pointed to a central, larger tunnel. “Intel suggests this tunnel leads into the lower levels of the tower and is almost finished. If we can hijack the SERC, we can drill through the last bit and enter the tower from below. From there, we just have to contend with internal security.”

V studied the recording, noting guard locations and distances. “There’s a lot of security at the site,” she said. “How were we gonna get past that?”

Mitch smirked. “We do have a Militech tank, remember?”

V nodded, recalling how she’d helped the Aldecaldos ambush the Militech convoy and steal the Basilisk. She’d even taken it for a spin with Panam, and helped to ward off a Scav raid while they were at it. So she knew about its immense firepower.

“Alright, so how do we take the drill?”

The next several hours were spent going over the finer details of the Aldecaldos plan. Most of V’s friends included their own assistance. Judy would help Carol in writing a virus to hack the SERC. River had some old contacts who could send inspectors to the site to gather more intel, and possibly even shut down the site indefinitely. Viktor and Misty would prepare medical kits, and Weyland would get the firepower. Kerry would help fund the raid, while Johnny volunteered as another merc.

Partway through the planning, the group was interrupted by Claire.

“Hey guys, you’ll probably want to see this,” she said, gesturing at the holoscreen behind the bar. It was displaying a developing news story. Claire made sure to raise the volume.

_Breaking news, Militech CEO Joseph Grand has given Arasaka Corp one week to remove the imposter Saburo Arasaka as CEO, or war will be declared. No response has been heard yet from Arasaka Corp. Mayor Jefferson Peralez has advised residents to shelter in place and wait for further orders._

“Holy shit,” said Kerry, looking pale. “It’s gonna be the Unification War all over again.”

Everyone else seemed similarly affected by the news.

“Breaking into Arasaka just got a lot harder,” said Johnny. “They’re gonna turn that tower into a stronghold with the threat of all-out war.”

Now V was even less sold on the Aldecaldos plan. Even if they were able to get into the tower, there was no way they’d be able to sneak or fight their way to the upper levels, and then back out. Hopelessness began to take hold of her again. Up until her phone rang.

V glanced at the caller ID, expecting another Afterlife contact, but her heart shot into her throat as the name flashed before her eyes. Hanako Arasaka.

She didn’t answer at first. The last time she’d talked to Hanako was at Embers, where Hanako had told V to come with her to Arasaka Tower and testify to their Board of Directors on what she saw the night Saburo Arasaka was murdered. In return, she’d let V access Mikoshi and remove Johnny’s Engram. V and Jackie had been the only witnesses to the crime, hiding in Yorinobu Arasaka’s penthouse just after they’d swiped the relic chip.

Johnny had convinced her not to trust Hanako, and she’d agreed to let him and Rogue infiltrate the tower themselves. So V couldn’t think of any reason why Hanako would be calling her, especially since V basically betrayed her by not testifying.

Moving to a more private part of the bar, V answered the call uneasily. Hanako’s face appeared in her view a moment later.

“Hello, V,” she said. V didn’t respond. “I know you must be wondering why I’m contacting you, after that stunt you pulled in my family’s tower. You will be happy to know it’s not what you’re expecting. I need your help for another job.”

V regarded the Corpo suspiciously. “Why would you want my help after I basically betrayed you?” she asked bluntly.

Hanako frowned. “Because, for an important task, I need the best I can get. You are the best mercenary in Night City, are you not? Leader of the Afterlife from what I’ve heard.”

V cringed at that. Nothing could be kept from the Corpo higher-ups, apparently. Not even her personal life.

“Yeah, I’m still the best. But, sorry to say, your fancy chip fucked up my head, and I’m in no position to be doing any job. So if you wanna-“

“And what if I told you this task could stop a war?” she said. 

V paused. Stopping a war was good, all things considered. “You’re talking about Militech’s ultimatum? This job has something to do with your dad then, I’m guessing.”

Hanako nodded, and V saw real emotion on her face for the first time. “Yes, V. It does. However, I cannot talk of such things over Vidcall. I have sent a contact of mine to bring you to me, so we may discuss this, if you are willing. As is befitting your status, I expect your rate will be exorbitant. This may also be discussed.”

V thought hard for a minute. She knew she couldn’t trust Hanako, but she didn’t see any reason why the Arasaka would risk contacting her with war on the horizon. And she’d said the task would help stop the war, possibly before it even began. V would’ve been happy letting the corporations destroy each other, but the fallout on the population would be terrible. A war was not in this city’s best interest.

“Alright,” she finally said. “We can talk. Where is your contact?”

“Waiting outside,” Hanako replied immediately. Then she hung up.

V went back to the main bar, her mind whirring. The planning group were still debating how the war declaration would affect the drill plan. V made quick work of hushing them up. Very discreetly, she told them there was an Arasaka contact at the door. Most moved for weapons, ready for a fight, when V told them the contact shouldn’t be a threat, but to be on guard anyway. With that, she turned on her tense friends and went to the front door. As it hissed open, V’s jaw dropped. Standing on the other side was none other than Goro Takemura.

“Holy shit,” V breathed out. The man standing in front of her looked a little worse for wear, but that deadpan expression couldn’t be faked. It was Takemura, in the flesh. “Takemura, you’re…you’re…”

“Yes, I am alive,” he said. “We may discuss it on the ride over. For now, Ms. Arasaka is waiting, and we must not delay.”

“Uhh, I’ll meet you outside, just gimme a minute.”

He nodded, and turned on his heel to head up the stairs. V leaned against the wall, dazed. The last time she’d seen Takemura was after they’d gotten Hanako to that motel room, and Arasaka Elites had stormed in. After the floor had collapsed beneath her, Johnny had urged her to leave while she could. She never went back to see if Takemura had made it out. Apparently, he had. She looked behind at her friends, who were all still regarding her tensely.

“I, uh, gotta go. Something important has come up. We can meet back here tomorrow, same time.”

The others looked fairly confused as V slipped out the door. Sitting outside the bar was a matte black Corpo limousine. Takemura was waiting beside it, and opened the rear door for her to enter. She climbed in, and immediately recognized the person already inside. Hanako Arasaka herself.

“This is discrete,” said V flatly as she took a seat. Takemura climbed in after her, shutting the door behind him. The limo began to move, sliding smoothly into the streets of Watson.

“I needed a place where we could speak privately,” said Hanako. The woman was wearing a black dress and heavy sunglasses, which was over the top given the complete blackout tint on the windows.

“Well, now that you’ve got me, how about you two explain how you got out of that motel room alive,” V said.

Hanako removed her sunglasses, looking V in the eye. “Those agents were sent to find me, and eliminate my kidnappers,” she said. “Lucky for you, the floor collapsed, letting you escape. Mr. Takemura here wasn’t so fortunate. He was arrested and tortured for three days before I was able to facilitate his release. Since then, I’ve had him with me, as a guardian and witness. He proved that what he and you did in Japantown was an effort to gain justice for my father. Unfortunately, my father did not see it that way, and attempted to have both of you killed.”

“Do not feel guilty for leaving me behind, V,” said Takemura. “It was the smart thing to do. Going back for me would have ended up with us both captured, or killed. I am glad you made it out.”

He held out his hand as a peace offering, and V shook it, feeling slightly better. 

“Now, onto the matter at hand,” said Hanako. “I will be frank. I need your help to kill my father.”

V wasn’t sure she heard Hanako right. It just sounded wrong coming from the woman.

“Why the hell would you want your own father killed?” V exclaimed. 

“To stop his reign of terror before it begins,” Hanako fired back. “You do not know of the atrocities he committed in the last war. I will not have my family name sullied by him again. He has turned into a monster, and war would only fuel his terrorism. He would never step down and meet Militech’s demands, so he must be removed. Permanently.”

V sat back into her seat, feeling numb. She’d never been contracted with a hit this high up before. She didn’t even know where she’d begin. She knew that should Saburo stay in power, then Night City would be ground zero for another Corpo war. Millions would die. But the mere concept of killing a megacorp CEO was impossible to consider.

“I would provide the necessary intelligence and resources, of course,” continued Hanako. “What I cannot have is a connection back to myself. Not yet, at least. So you would operate autonomously, making me be as the victim. Payment for this task would be one million Eurodollars, and pardons for your slights against my company.”

The money was ridiculous, of course, but V’s mind had already shifted into job-mode.

“Like everyone else, I know Saburo took over his son’s body using an Engram he had saved of himself. What’s to stop the Engram once the body is flatlined?” V inquired.

“That’s the key, and why I needed your help specifically,” said Hanako. “We require the knowledge of the Save Your Soul program leader in order to shut down my father’s backup Engrams. Unfortunately, the project leader was sent into a coma after you forcibly accessed Mikoshi. She was in the process of uploading her own Engram into Save Your Soul, and I believe that has something to do with her ailment. Therefore, you must reenter cyberspace and attempt to bring her back, or this will all be for naught.”

V’s heart had dropped into her stomach as soon as Hanako had mentioned the Save Your Soul project leader.

“The project leader is Yuna, your cousin, isn’t it?” V said dejectedly.

Hanako actually looked surprised. “How do you know this name?”

V felt like she shouldn’t tell Hanako that she was planning to abduct her cousin’s body and upload her own Engram into it. “I have my contacts, as you have yours,” V said instead. “Point is, why do we need her specifically?”

“Yuna is the only one who has access to all of the Save Your Soul codes and procedures. She did not deem it necessary to share them with her staff, for program safety. Only she can access Saburo’s Engram from its stasis in Save Your Soul. Once an Engram is removed from Stasis, it will immediately begin to deteriorate. It needs to only be out for five minutes before complete corruption has occurred. However, the Engram does not need to be removed from stasis to be reuploaded into a new body. So as long as my father’s Engram exists, he will stay in power, and war will plague this city once more.”

V sat silently for a long while. What she’d just learned completely changed her plans. If she took over Yuna’s body, the only person who could stop Saburo would be gone forever. But if she let Yuna somehow return to her body, V’s last chance at life would be gone.

“I, um, have to think about this,” she murmured finally. Hanako’s eyes narrowed.

“That is what you said last time, before crashing an AV into my tower,” Hanako said flatly. “But, due to the importance of the matter, I will grant you this time. You have until tomorrow to decide. I will be sending Takemura with you to ensure you stay in line.”

The rest of the ride remained silent, until the limo pulled up in front of The Afterlife again. V stepped out, with Takemura right behind her. As they stood on the sidewalk and the limo pulled away, Takemura placed a hand on V’s shoulder.

“V, I have a request as well. Whatever your decision, please at least agree to bring Yuna back. She and I were…close. I was her personal protection detail, but things…happened, as is natural. We are special to each other, like this Judy you have mentioned to me. Saburo found out about us, and separated us. This is how I became his guard, instead of Yuna’s. I would give anything to have her back at my side. If you feel you must make up the events of Japantown, this is my request.”

V nodded mutely, not trusting herself to speak. Both sides of the coin had been presented to her, and once again, she would end up hurting people she cared about. No matter her choice.


	8. Part 1: Return, Chapter 8

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 8**

[-]

The Afterlife was nearly empty as V and Takemura walked back in. Most of V’s friends had cleared out, leaving only Judy and Johnny sitting at the bar.

V still found Johnny’s new appearance jarring. She had only just had him land back in her life barely an hour ago, and it still hadn’t fully processed. The last time she saw him was on the bridge to Blackwall, as he left her behind to join Alt. They’d each fought to save the other, but Johnny had ultimately won out. But here he was, drinking at the bar just like his Engram did in her head. And this time he was real. Completely different looking, but still real.

He’d popped up out of nowhere, with a solution nobody else could attain. Upload herself to a new body, and abandon her dying one. The answer was surreal. Nobody had ever heard of such a thing even being possible, yet it was her only choice. Well, it used to be. Her conversation with Hanako was still swirling through her head. The new information was jarring, completely throwing off everything she had been planning. And it left her with the hardest decision of her life. 

She realized it was actually easier when the relic chip had been in her head. She’d had a clear goal, with a clear plan. Remove Johnny, save herself, get on with her life. But now, now her decision had much more than her own well-being on the line.

Judy had spun around at the sound of the door opening, and her face brightened considerably seeing V. She ran over to embrace her, but V still noticed the questioning look in her eye. V’s stomach suddenly lurched, as she thought of what would happen to Judy if she let Yuna Arasaka come back.

Judy had told V many times that she was the sole reason she was still in Night City, the only good thing she still had. She’d already lost Evelyn to suicide, then her old flame Maiko fled after V spared her life. There was still the Mox, but she’d never seen Judy really interact with them other than earlier that day with Zanya. Judy’s only family left was V herself, and if she let herself die, V feared it would be the last nail in the coffin for Judy. She’d already suffered through V almost dying from the relic chip, and V wanted to do everything in her power to spare her precious girl from that pain again.

If necessary, she could have Viktor and Misty or perhaps the Aldecaldos look after her if she were gone. Find her a new place to live outside the city, maybe even…

V suddenly realized what she was thinking. She was honestly considering Hanako’s terms, and it terrified her. She wanted to take the selfish route, to save herself and run away with Judy. But she’d be dooming her friends and the rest of Night City to another destructive war. It was like the old cartoons, where the Devil was on one shoulder and an Angel was on the other, each trying to sway their side.

Judy recognized the conflicted look on V’s face immediately. It was the same look she’d worn on that fateful call from the rooftop, V’s last goodbye in case she didn’t make it. It was giving Judy shivers of fear.

“V, babe, what was all that about?” she asked, cupping V’s face in her hands. V just stood there, looking lost. “Who were you meeting with?” she pressed. She looked over V’s shoulder at the man standing behind her. “Is it something to do with him?”

V never met Judy’s eyes. “We, um, we should sit down for this.” Judy looked worried, but complied, leading them over to Rogue’s booth. Takemura took up a post by the door, surveying the bar with a keen eye. He seemed somewhat interested in Johnny, though, as he kept glancing at him suspiciously.

“So what’s this all about?” Judy asked again.

V pursed her lips, trying to find the words to explain. “Well, Hanako Arasaka, daughter of Saburo and the one who was supposed to help me get to Mikoshi, called me and asked to meet. Remember when I told you about Japantown? Hanako was the one we were trying to intercept, me and Goro over there. Anyway, she wanted to hire me for a job.”

V looked down at her hands, which were shaking slightly from her own tension. “She wants me to assassinate Saburo Arasaka.”

Judy covered her mouth in shock. “Why in the hell…” she trailed off.

V sighed. “Hanako wants Saburo eliminated to remove Militech’s scapegoat for war. His takeover of his son as an Engram is the reason for Militech’s declaration. So Yorinobu’s body and Saburo’s Engram need to be destroyed. Hanako knew about my condition, and my experience with Cyberspace and the Blackwall, so she thinks I’m the best for the job.” V took a deep breath to attempt to calm herself. “Apparently, his Engram can only be accessed with specific protocols and access codes. But the only one who can destroy his Engram is…” V looked away and slammed her fist onto the table in anguish. “Yuna Arasaka.”

Judy’s face went from recognition to horror in a split second as she realized what that entailed.

“No, Val, no, that’s your ticket out of this. You can’t give it up. We said we’d fix you, no matter what.”

Judy’s eyes were now tearing up. She started clutching at V’s jacket. “Please, Valerie, tell me you’re not considering this. Please! You can’t give up your one chance. We need you here. _I_ need you here, with me!”

V’s silence only confirmed her opinion on the matter, and served to make Judy even more upset. “God V, no,” Judy moaned, dropping her head to V’s lap, her chest heaving.

“There’s nothing I want more than to run away with you,” V whispered. “To have a taste of that peaceful life everyone talks about.” V pulled Judy up to look her in the eyes. Judy’s pleading gaze was making it so much harder to talk. “But maybe that was never my destiny, after all. We have a chance to prevent a war, to save millions. My life is not worth more than that.”

Judy was shaking her head as she cried. “I’ve had everything taken from me, Val. Except you. Don’t make me lose you too. Don’t make me. Please.”

V pulled Judy close, rocking them back and forth. They both realized what needed to be done, and they both knew it would destroy them.

[-]

Johnny was pissed, which seemed to be his primary state of being lately. He’d overheard V’s conversation with Judy about the war and how to use the body and all that crap. Of course the universe would shit on him right as he’d found a way to save V. Though V was a mercenary, he was certain he knew her better than anyone, seeing as how he’d spent a month in her mind with her. And he was positive she’d choose the ‘righteous’ path. Let herself die for the good of the world, ‘cause that’s how she operated. Putting others before herself. She’d even done it to him, ordering and then begging him to take her body and live, and let her go beyond the Blackwall with Alt. He thought he’d been doing the good guy thing, letting her go back instead of him, to be with Judy and the rest of her chooms. But it all turned out twisted, with her dying and him living on in a new body. 

He wished again that the body left to her wasn’t some Arasaka silver spoon nutjob. But no, Alt had to leave her with that one. Like some sort of divine joke. And just their luck, that particular Arasaka was the key to the world not ending. Fucking spectacular.

He wanted V to take the opportunity, to get a chance at life. With all the shit she’s been through, and everything she’s done, she was owed that. Let the city burn for all he cared, it’s what he’d’ve wanted anyway. 

He got the chance to tell her just that as she joined him at the bar, requesting an entire bottle of tequila from Claire. Claire placed a bottle of the good stuff and a glass in front of her, and V set to pouring herself a heaping glass, and downing it one gulp. She repeated this again, before inclining her head slightly towards Johnny.

“So how exactly did you end up back here to terrorize me?” she asked.

“Well, can’t really remember it too well. I know I was in Blackwall, but it felt all wrong. I didn’t feel alive. Alt said somethin’ ‘bout me being corrupted or some shit, and possible damaging her precious Cyberspace. So she booted me back here in this fine gentleman you see before you.”

V didn’t react other than pouring another glass. She’d seen enough shit to believe Johnny’s story at face value.

“I know you wanna take the high road, and save this godforsaken city,” Johnny said while staring at his beer bottle. “I was in your head long enough to know that.”

V solemnly nodded.

“But for once, I want you to listen to me,” he continued, turning his head to look at her. She looked haggard, exhausted, like all the world was weighing her down. She slowly met his eyes.

“You need to think about this, and think about it hard. Yes, you can potentially stop another Corpo war, using a person who might not still exist, to help you kill the most powerful man on the face of the planet. Or you can live. I’d much rather you live, though knowing you, you’d probably end up in another life-or-death situation next week.”

V’s mouth curved up into a ghost of a smile.

“Seriously though kid, you need to pass this one up. You can’t always save everyone, so for once, save yourself. Let this one go. Please.”

V grimaced. “This just another one of your plans to, as you put it, burn this city to the ground?”

“I couldn’t care less about this fucking city,” Johnny fired back. “I care about you. You deserve so much better than sacrificing yourself for these lunatics.” He gestured widely behind him. “You deserve a long and happy life, with your pretty Mox over there. You’ve done enough for this city, and it’s time to cash out.”

V sighed. “I want that more than anything in the world, but you know I can’t let innocent people suffer. To run away like a coward. It’s not how I operate.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Johnny. “But this time would be the last time. There’s no coming back, no do-overs. This is your last chance.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “You and Rogue are the closest thing I got to a family. Don’t make me lose both of you.”

[-]

The night passed slowly for Judy and V. They had left The Afterlife as it was starting to open for business and returned to V’s apartment. Johnny was staying at the bar for the time being, set up in a room Weyland had provided. He’d told V the planning squad was coming back the next day, and promised he’d be there.

V knew no matter her choice, she still had to find a way into Arasaka tower, and survive doing it. The Aldecaldos plan with the drill was promising, and with a little fine tuning, it could work. Then they’d just have to get past the security. Johnny had done it before with Rogue, a couple times in fact, and having Adam Smasher out of the picture was relieving. But intel from her fixers had Arasaka buttoned up tighter than a nuclear bunker with war on the horizon. A team would be better, more guns and more eyes, but that also put more of her friends at risk, which she’d never be okay with. Judy had also told her that no matter what, wherever she went, she’d be there too. V knew she’d never convince her otherwise, given the events of the last time she went into Arasaka. So now Judy was at risk, too.

In her heart, V wanted to go with Judy and Johnny’s preference, to take Yuna’s body for herself and leave Night City in the dust. But her mind kept telling her how destructive the fallout of that decision would be, and how guilty her conscience would end up, knowing she could’ve stopped a war but didn’t.

To be objective about it, and not make a decision, V started considering both scenarios. She’d need a plan for how to deal with Saburo, and a way to convince Yuna to help her. She was convinced Yuna could come back, seeing as how Johnny was able to after entering Blackwall. And without her, killing Yorinobu would only be depriving Saburo of a body, and not of his influence. She also wanted a plan for escaping Night City if she took Yuna’s body. She couldn’t stay, not with the threat of information leaking that Hanako hired her to kill Saburo, and the dangers of an urban war. The Afterlife wouldn’t survive, it would be one of the first targets of either side. To take out the mercenary underworld before it became a thorn in their sides. And with V as its de-facto leader now, she’d be number one on the hit list.

She’d also need to arrange safety for her friends and organization. Ways to protect her fixers, ripperdocs, and mercenaries. Ways to relocate or hide her friends. Kerry would be fine, he had his own contacts and resources. But Viktor, Misty, and River could get press-ganged into the war. Mama Welles and Claire could lose their businesses. The Aldecaldos would probably be exterminated.

Without realizing it at first, the stress from all her thinking was starting to take a toll on her. It began as a nosebleed, which morphed into coughing and a splitting headache. V was barely able to make it to the toilet before her stomach emptied its contents.

Judy was there immediately, pulling V’s hair back and tying it. She left for a moment and returned with a water bottle and the cyberpsycho pills. V felt immensely guilty, having Judy care for her when the outcome was inevitable. This body would die, not matter what she did. Judy didn’t deserve this. And V didn’t deserve Judy. Yet here she was, treating her broken body with such care and devotion. V couldn’t stand the thought of breaking Judy’s heart entirely. Was utterly destroying this poor girl really worth war? V didn’t know anymore.

[-]

The next day, Judy and V returned to The Afterlife, much like they did the previous day. And, just as before, their little planning committee was already there to greet them.

The Aldecaldos had been hard at work getting intel on the construction site. River had been able to get an inspection team from the police lined up, who would be there in two days. So they had that long to prepare. Everybody knew V’s clock was ticking down, and the sooner she got into Arasaka, the better.

Weyland told V he had a group of merc volunteers who wanted to join the fight and lay some heat on Arasaka. V agreed, knowing full well they’d need all the help they could get. The Aldecaldos brought Carol with them, and she and Judy set up in a corner to start on the takeover virus for the SERCs. Kerry had worked with Weyland to get the gear set up. They had ordered vehicles, portable Netrunner rigs, more of Rogue’s rocket boots, combat harnesses, medical supplies, and lots of weapons.

With everything running smoothly, V waited for the call from Hanako. As expected, it came exactly 24 hours after Hanako had set the deadline. But not directly to her. Takemura received the call, and he and V went to a private section of the bar to talk.

“Have you made your decision?” Hanako asked.

V had been thinking about this all through the night. She had decided to agree to Hanako’s terms to at least get access to the Corpo’s resources and intel. Whether or not she would follow through with them was still unclear, but Takemura and Hanako didn’t need to know that. If she were forced to betray, and even kill Hanako, she would do it if it meant saving her friends.

“Yes, I have,” V replied. “I will take your job.”

“Excellent,” said Hanako. “First off, I must know, do you have a way to get into the tower?”

“Yes, I have that covered. What I need is the ability to get to Yuna once I’m in.”

“I see. I will send you a datashard with the access codes needed to advance through the tower. Unfortunately, I cannot disable the guards. Security has been increased exponentially with the threat of war, and not with normal agents. My father has developed a new super soldier, using the Engrams of Arasaka special forces. They are not human, but an advanced cyber-biological automaton. I do not know if they can be shut down remotely, so you will most likely have to fight several. I will include what I know about them in the datashard. As you know, I cannot be seen as an accomplice, as I must be in a position to take over Arasaka Corp once my father is gone. I cannot help once your mission begins.”

“I understand,” V said.

“Excellent. Takemura will keep me updated on your progress. Good luck, V.”

With that, the connection was terminated. Takemura looked pleased.

“I am glad you have accepted this task,” he said. “I very much look forward to seeing Yuna again. You honor me greatly.” He bowed his head.

V swallowed hard, unable to say she might betray him.

[-]

It had taken longer than he wanted, but Graves finally had a lead on his missing officers. The MaxTac AV they had been using had gone down in southern Watson. It had already been torn apart by Maelstrom, leaving nothing behind that could be salvaged. All but three of the squad were found dead at the site. It was the remaining three that had Graves frustrated. 

The squad had been assigned a hit on Cashmere Gallagher, for espionage on Militech. Graves knew this was probably a planted claim, but he couldn’t care less as long as he was paid. The news going around was that Militech was declaring war on Arasaka, and Grand was cracking down on competitors and potential loose ends in preparation. Gallagher was one of them. 

Graves had no issue with killing Corpos, or killing anyone for that matter. Militech had been using MaxTac as its personal black ops hit squad for years now. Graves had personally executed dozens of contracted strikes. But the threat of war had him somewhat nervous.

With Militech declaring all-out war, Graves knew he would end up fighting too. It was no secret Militech supplied MaxTac and the rest of Night City police and held their allegiance. But with Gallagher out of the picture, the line of succession would be completely wiped out, leaving Grand with all the power. As long as Grand stayed the CEO of Militech, Graves and the rest of MaxTac could never be indicted for the crimes they’d committed under the company.

But that only happened if Gallagher was eliminated. Being the son of the last Militech CEO, he posed a legitimate threat towards Grand’s takeover, even if he was a spoiled idiot. Everybody who worked for a corporation knew Gallagher was a playboy, always flaunting his money and power in the most ridiculous way possible. Which was why Graves was still confused how his squad wasn’t able to eliminate him.

Gallagher had to have had help, somehow. A private security force or something, since his missing officers had been killed. Their implants proved that. Graves just had to find where the fight occurred, since the trail ran cold at the crashed AV.

He’d had his men and drones out searching a full day now, scanning for Gallagher or the missing officers. He was nearing the end of his patience when he was informed Gallagher had been spotted. At The Afterlife.


	9. Part 1: Return, Chapter 9

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 9**

[-]

Joseph Grand was feeling quite pleased with himself. It had been five days since he’d publicly denounced Arasaka and given a week for a response. While no statement had yet been given in turn by Saburo or Arasaka Corp, Grand had learned from his informants that the tower was locking down, and reinforcements from Japan had been flying in for days. He was finally getting the war he’d dreamed of.

His preparations were coming along nicely as well. He now had full support of the Mayor and state government. Peralez was a pushover, willing to do whatever the people called for. With a little nudging and underhanded dealing, Grand gained public support and the rest of the police force. The majority of Militech’s private military forces had been called back to the city, and hundreds of new conscripts were enlisting every day. The factories were running at top speed, churning out weapons, tanks, and AVs. All of the other Militech headquarters were doing the same across the world, wherever an Arasaka installation was nearby.

He’d purged his Board of Directors as well, quietly eliminating anyone who could defy him, and replacing them with his own loyalists. Now, only one loose end remained. Cashmere Gallagher.

He’d put Colonel Graves, his top MaxTac officer on that one, and it bewildered him that Gallagher still lived. The man was an idiot. There was no way he could evade MaxTac. Grand had already put Gallagher’s mansion on lockdown, his cars seized, his accounts frozen. Gallagher had nothing left, and yet somehow he was still alive.

Gallagher was the only thing standing in his way for true takeover of Militech. The man was a senior Vice President, with the power to legally contest any of Grand’s decisions. They could be overruled, of course, but the company would be that much weaker with a dissenter in the upper ranks. All because he was the previous CEO’s son.

But Grand was a patient man. Even if he couldn’t be eliminated right away, Gallagher would have to show himself at some point. Grand knew he was still in the city, as the in and out traffic was being closely monitored. And even if he did escape, he couldn’t show his face without one of his men finding out about it. So dead or in hiding, each would be fine for now.

His thinking was interrupted by a notification in his HUD. He read the message, and smiled. Graves had found Gallagher.

[-]

The plan was set. After 8 hours of deliberation, V had a way into Arasaka that wasn’t complete suicide.

They were still waiting for information from River’s contacts, which would at least provide security movements and details. Militech was hired to patrol the site, but they didn’t have any heavy weapons or vehicles in the area. So it was only foot soldiers they’d have to contend with.

The team would assemble at the Aldecaldos North camp. The dig site was only a few miles away, closer to the city. They’d use the Basilisk and the Aldecaldo’s desert cars to transport, and break through the first wave of defense. Once they’d gotten past the front gate, the Aldecaldos and Afterlife mercs would provide cover for Carol, Judy, and V so they can get to the control tower and hack the SERC. Panam, Mitch, Saul, and Johnny would take the SERC itself, which was a half mile into the giant tunnel it was digging. After the SERC was hacked, Panam would pilot it 30 degrees to the right, so it plowed into a storage room, which was much closer than the transportation tunnel the SERC was aimed at. From there, they could make their way up and into the tower.

Takemura had been delivered the Datashard from Hanako, which had access codes to most doors and subsystems in the tower. The data was constantly re-encrypted every few seconds, so that made the shard even more valuable. The Save Your Soul laboratory was located on the 70th floor, so they’d need to use the elevators.

The infiltration team was as small as V was willing to make it. Panam, Saul, Weyland, and Johnny would act as protection for V, Judy, and Carol. Judy and Carol were needed for the Netrunning aspects of the Save Your Soul protocols. Takemura would also be on the team, as he already knew the best routes and possible dangers within the tower.

Misty, Viktor, Kerry, and River would remain with the initial assault team, helping to guard the construction site and be on standby in case anything went wrong.

Finally, Weyland had organized an AV to pick them up from the roof. They’d only be able to use it if they took out the tower’s defense systems from the inside, something Carol was working on. If they weren’t able to land the AV, they’d have to go back underground and exit out the SERC tunnel.

V and Takemura didn’t tell anyone else besides Judy and Johnny about the assassination job, fearing it would stall the plan and divide their forces. Though nobody, not even V knew if she was going to go through with it.

Sometime in the middle of the planning, Johnny pulled V to the side.

“V, some stuff you and me gotta sort out. C’mon.”

He pulled her back behind the bar, to The Afterlife’s Netrunning room. It looked like Nix had been doing some upgrades. Brand new monitors and equipment were hanging from nearly every surface. Even the Netrunner chair in the center looked shiny and unused. Nix sat at his usual place, in front of the central computer. He gestured at the chair for V to sit.

“I was doin’ some thinking, and we’ve still got some holes to fill, for any of this to work.” Johnny said. “I convinced Nix here to optimize his setup for deep Cyberspace dives. And by convince, I transferred him a shit ton of eddies.”

Nix leaned over V, pulling levers and pressing buttons.

“I felt it was in our best interest,” continued Johnny, “To talk to Alt and find out the burning question, is Yuna Arasaka even still alive?”

Nix pulled a tight fitting set of Netrunner goggles over V’s head. V could only feel Johnny’s hand as it rested on her shoulder.

“’Cause if Yuna can’t be saved, then there’s no need to keep considering this crazy plan you and Hanako have cooked up.”

V was starting to see his logic when Cyberspace exploded into view. It began as the standard blue wireframe she’d seen in Pacifica, and slowly coalesced into the recreation of the Arasaka Tower courtyard Alt had used before. Just as quickly, the blue amorphous blob of Alt manifested itself in front of her.

“I calculated this interaction as likely to happen,” said Alt. “Why is it you stand in my realm once more?”

V suddenly recalled how Alt had tricked her and Johnny, lying about them both surviving the damage caused by the relic chip. Fury clouded her mind.

“I wanna know why you let Johnny come back, after leaving me for dead in my own body,” V bit out.

“Johnny Silverhand’s Engram was not properly optimized for reintegration into me. I foresaw this as a potential error and prepared accordingly. The only minds available to me at the time were the ones from the Arasaka Save Your Soul program. I wiped them and returned Silverhand’s Engram to one of the surviving bodies. The other was intended for you.”

“And why the fuck did it have to be Yuna Arasaka?” V demanded.

“I had no choice in the bodies available to me,” said Alt. “The one known as Yuna Arasaka was simply strong enough to survive the wipe.”

V found controlling her temper was much more difficult in Cyberspace, as there wasn’t any air to breathe, no floor to stomp or object to smash. But she had to control it.

“Is Yuna still alive?” V finally asked.

“Yes, and no. I have Yuna Arasaka’s Engram, but it is not active. It cannot exist in this realm without deteriorating, as it does not have a host,” said Alt.

“Can she be put into any other body?” V pressed.

“That would require a relic chip for the Engram to inhabit until complete neural rewrite has occurred. You are already familiar with this process.”

That eliminated V’s other idea, to have Yuna come back as somebody else. She didn’t even know if more relic chips existed, let alone where to get one. “What if you wiped another body?”

“This I cannot do. The consciences I had access to were already prepared for upload into Cyberspace. Without proper preparation, I cannot wipe a physical mind and have it survive.”

V steeled herself for her next question. “Can Yuna be put back into her own body?”

“Yes,” said Alt. “However, if you decide to return the user’s consciousness, I will be forced to destroy all access points to Blackwall and beyond. This particular user has the ability to access Blackwall, and I cannot allow that.”

It was with a sinking realization that V realized nothing Alt told her changed anything. She still had to choose who would end up in Yuna Arasaka’s body. She turned her back on the construct, and ran back into the darkness.

She opened her eyes to the Netrunning room, the equipment around her slightly smoking, and Johnny in a chair facing her. “Well, learn anything?” he asked.

V updated him on what Alt had told her. Johnny had a dark look on his face at the end of it.

“Well, when the time comes, I hope you make the right choice, V,” said Johnny. Then he got up and left the room.

[-]

The group was finally relaxing with some beers at the end of the deliberation. The bar had opened up by then, and patrons were streaming in at a steady rate. V was laughing with Judy and Mitch in Rogue’s booth, when a booming voice from a loudspeaker echoed in from outside. 

“This is Night City Police Maximum Force Tactical Division. We have a warrant out for Cashmere Gallagher. You have one minute to release this man into our custody, or we will enter the premises by force.”

V’s heart stopped. She recalled how Johnny had told her how he’d ended up at The Afterlife, having been chased by a squad of MaxTac, and nearly flatlined by them before Weyland and Claire intervened. Then she recalled who Johnny was galivanting around as. Cashmere Gallagher, VP of Militech.

She bolted out of her seat, pulling Johnny away from two pretty patrons and to a dark corner of the bar.

“Fucking MaxTac is outside!” she hissed through her teeth at him. Johnny looked confused for a moment, then his eyes widened and he touched the back of his head, where his shard slot was.

“Fuckin’ hell, I didn’t realize it turned off,” he said. V’s furious look convinced him to elaborate. “Cab I was in gave me a signal blocker, said MaxTac was using tracking Daemon’s on me. Apparently it switched itself off an hour ago.”

“Well what the fuck do we do?“ V demanded. “We can’t fight MaxTac, it’s too risky!”

Johnny was silent for a moment. “Let me sort this one out. I gotta go out there before they come in here.”

“They’ll fucking kill you!” V cried.

“No they won’t, just wait and see. Get everyone with a gun ready, and wait for my signal.”

“What signal?” V called after him, but he was already out the door. “Fuck me,” she murmured, before running to grab her guns.

Johnny stepped outside to a tense group of MaxTac. There were ten of them, each pointing a rifle at his head. All besides the officer in the middle, who looked to be their leader.

He was a tall, heavily built man, with a shaven face and bald head. He looked to be older, possibly in his fifties. And everything about him screamed ‘hardass’.

“Ahh, Gallagher, there you are,” said the officer. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Good thing your personal IR signal turned back on.” He held a holo-document up in front of him. “Got a warrant here with your name on it. So how ‘bout you come down to the station with me, or I can splatter your brains all across the street right here. Up to you.”

Johnny grinned. “Don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure there, sir. Who the fuck are you?”

The man’s evil grin faded. “Colonel William Graves, and the last person you’re gonna see if you don’t shut up. Rory, cuff him.”

One of the other officers lowered their weapon and brandished a pair of handcuffs. Johnny suddenly recognized her.

“Melissa Rory. They still hiring cyberpsychos, or is it just for your good looks?”

Rory backhanded Johnny with the cuffs. “Shut it, Gallagher.” Johnny waited until she was behind him, then activated his Sandevistan. Time slowed to a crawl, and he rapidly twisted, grabbing Rory’s wrists and crossing them in front of her neck, then locking his own hands behind her head. She couldn’t activate her Mantis Blades now without slicing her own head off. The rest of the MaxTac squad all tensed.

With protection from the immediate threat, Johnny was able to relax slightly, while still keeping a firm hold on Rory.

“Now, we can speak like gentleman. Why does Militech want me killed, huh? Grand want the whole shebang to himself?”

Graves looked furious. “Like I give a damn why. Your name came up, and I do the hit. That’s all this is.”

“Sounds like warmongering to me. Doesn’t Militech realize they can’t win this war, or is it all filled up with dumbbells like yourself?” said Johnny with his usual cheekiness.

“Militech will win the war. Arasaka is primed to fall. But unfortunately for you, you won’t be around to see it. Now, last chance Gallagher, give yourself up, or die here and now.

“‘You’re in no situation to be making demands,” Johnny said, nodding down at Rory.

Grand smirked. “You think I give a fuck about one officer? I’d sooner kill both of you and be done with all this.”

“So inconsiderate,” said Johnny. “Well I don’t feel like dying today, so let’s even the playing field, shall we?” With that, he let out a piercing whistle. To his delight, V and every other armed merc in the bar swarmed out onto the street, leveling their own iron on the MaxTac squad. Graves looked even more enraged.

“Gallagher ain’t going with you. So how about I give you 5 seconds to fuck off,” said V.

Graves looked like he wanted nothing less than to give the order to fire, but self-preservation eventually won out. He waved the squad into the AV behind them, before boarding it himself. “This isn’t the end, Gallagher,” he yelled as the door closed. Everyone watched as the AV shot into the sky, headed back to Corpo Plaza.

“Excellent job, V,” said Johnny. “Knew you’d come through.”

“Shitty plan there, Johnny,” said V, holstering her pistol. “A standoff? That was the best you could come up with?”

Johnny smirked. “I only had a minute to plan. Told you I wouldn’t get flatlined, though.”

He inclined his head at his human shield. “What do you wanna do with this one?”

Melissa Rory had slumped, no longer fighting Johnny’s hold after her team had left her. Johnny pulled her arms down so he could bind her hands with her own handcuffs. V stepped in front of her.

The woman looked utterly defeated. Eliminating her would be the smart thing to do. They didn’t have the resources to keep her prisoner. But V wasn’t in the mood for executing anyone, especially an unarmed hostage.

“Let her go,” she said. Johnny looked aghast.

“Let her go?” he repeated incredulously.

“You heard me. We can’t keep her here, and we have no use for her. Let her crawl back to MaxTac, they’ll probably show even less mercy than we would.”

Johnny obviously didn’t agree, but he removed the cuffs, and kicked Rory into the street.

“Count yourself lucky,” he said, throwing the cuffs so they struck her in the back. No one watched her limp away.

[-]

V and Judy ended up at Viktor’s later that night, picking up the last of V’s pills. The plan would go into motion the next morning, and they wouldn’t have access to the clinic again. Vik provided a tiny bottle, enough to last the next few days. V took one to make Judy happy.

After leaving the clinic, V pulled Judy aside.

“Somethin’ I’ve been wantin’ to do,” said V. She took Judy’s hand and led her over to the central elevator between the close buildings, pressing the call button. Judy looked on curiously as they stepped inside, and V hit the button for the roof. 

“Where’s this go?” Judy asked.

“A special place,” said V.

Another minute and the elevator stopped at the top. V stepped out, pulling Judy along behind her, and led them to the roof.

The sun was just starting to set, casting a warm orange glow over the flashing neon of the city. It reflected and refracted against the glass of the megabuildings, making the city look like it was aflame. Judy’s jaw dropped in awe.

“I’ve never seen the city look so beautiful,” she breathed out. V had gone to lean on the edge, looking out at the view. Judy joined her.

“This is where I decided what to do about the relic chip. Misty showed it to me, she used to come up here a lot with Jackie. Said it helped her think.”

Judy watched as the wind played with V’s hair. She remembered that night, and that strange phone call she’d gotten from V. She remembered worrying over it for hours, unable to sleep, trying to figure out what V was trying to do. V had said she was going to go and face death. Judy had wished at the time for anything but. Now, she and V were in the same situation they’d been in then, just a week ago.

“I felt like I was going to my death when I called you. Wanted to hear your voice, remind myself why I couldn’t go,” V said as she continued to stare off into the distance. “Part of me wanted to end it, be done with the pain and the stress. That’s kind of the reason I let Johnny take control, in the end. I wasn’t strong enough to fight myself. Then, when we were in Cyberspace, and I found out about the timebomb in my own head, I begged him to take my body.” V heard Judy gasp beside her. “He refused. And I didn’t realize how much of a blessing that was until I woke up, and saw you.”

V finally turned to meet Judy’s eyes, her beautiful brown irises wide with emotion. “You were my sole reason for wanting to come back. You’re the sole reason why I’m still here now.”

V reached up and pulled her bullet necklace over her head. She’d made a single modification to it recently. She’d strung Johnny’s relic chip onto the chain. Very gently, she placed the necklace over Judy’s head.

“The things on this necklace killed me, and yet I’m still here. They stand as my promise to you, Judy Alvarez. That no matter what happens, I’m never truly gone. And wherever I end up, I will always love you.”

With a sob, Judy threw her arms around V, embracing her fiercely. And it was there, in that embrace on the rooftop, that V’s mind, heart, and soul made its choice. V took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.


	10. Part 1: Return, Chapter 10

**Another Choice**

**Part 1: Return, Chapter 10**

[-]

The crew was to meet at the Aldecaldo’s North camp the day River’s contacts were scheduled to relay their information. Judy and V were some of the first to arrive, in the early hours of the morning, when the sands were still cool from the previous night.

The last couple days had been hard on V. She was now getting sickly episodes at least twice a day, which was only worsened from the stress the coming mission brought. Judy had been doing her best to care for and comfort her output, but V was still getting worse by the minute. It was probably a good thing the plan was set in motion so quickly. 

The rest of the team trickled in over the next several hours. Misty and Viktor arrived shortly after V in Vik’s old Thorton, and they got set up right away with the resident Aldecaldo ripperdoc, Joel. Johnny and Takemura came in with Weyland and Claire, along with the volunteer merc crew around noon. Kerry followed just behind them. Weyland had managed to scrounge up twenty Afterlife mercs, which was a very welcome addition, as it nearly doubled their forces. They had barely parked before beginning to unload crate after crate of equipment from their black vans, carrying it into the central HQ tent where Saul was. Several branched off, joining other specialists around the camp. Two went up to join the ripperdocs, three went down to where Mitch had the Basilisk, and one went over to Judy and Carol in the Netrunner tent. Still more took up security positions, supplementing the Aldecaldos who were already patrolling the outskirts. Weyland and Johnny joined V and Saul in the HQ tent.

“Impressive amount of personnel,” said Saul, shaking the large Jamaican man’s hand. “We’re glad to have them.”

“How’d you round up so many?” V asked, watching in awe as they moved about the camp like a well-oiled machine. 

“You ‘ave more allies than ya realize, girl,” said Weyland. “Dey came, because da Queen of da Afterlife called dem. More loyal soldias, ya will not find.”

“I wouldn’t agree with that,” said Panam, walking up to the group, with River right behind her. “We Aldecaldos watch our own. And since V’s family, we’re prepared to do anything for her.”

Panam looked V in the eye, giving her a wide smile. V returned it, already feeling more confident than she had been the previous nights. Weyland didn’t acknowledge the comment, instead waiting silently for the meeting to start. Saul installed a datashard, displaying the construction site on the central terminal. He then motioned to River, who stepped up.

“Alright, my guys got the last of their intel this morning. Originally, the site was patrolled and operated by Militech, but since the war declaration, Militech had its guys pulled out days ago. That’s also why the drills stopped when they did. They didn’t want to keep digging a hole for Arasaka. The tunnels are scheduled to be demolished, but that won’t happen for weeks since they need to get the SERCs out. Now, the site is patrolled by Arasaka soldiers. Luckily for us they’re not a Special Forces or android unit. There’s approximately two dozen of them around at any given time, though my guys suspect they’re rotated out on shifts, so there are probably more in the area.”

River spun the hologram of the site, then zoomed in and highlighted the main gate.

“The gate has about ten guys on and in front of it. It’s made of reinforced steel, but the fence around it is just concrete, so blowing through it shouldn’t be a problem with the Basilisk.”

River highlighted another portion of the hologram.

“Past the gate is a bunch of construction equipment lining the road, which can be used as cover. Another ten or so guards patrol the inner site. The control room access is up the right side of the tunnel, and the SERC itself is eighteen hundred feet down. At least two guards are in the control room, and we don’t know if any are in the tunnel.”

River rotated the hologram one last time, then zoomed out. He highlighted a station a few miles from the construction site.

“This station was used as a Militech staging area for the region. They had the ability to provide reinforcements to the site if necessary. But since Militech pulled back into the city, I don’t know if it’s currently being used by Arasaka. If it is, we have about ten minutes from first contact for them to get reinforcements there. If they’re coming from the city, we’ll have about twenty minutes if they use AV’s, and forty if they drive.”

“We’ll get a team to check out the station,” said Saul. 

River nodded in acknowledgment. “Other than the reinforcements timing, we should be able to clear the site easily. We outnumber them twofold, and we’ll have the element of surprise. The difficult part will be holding the site.”

“’Ave no fear, cop,” said Weyland. “Nothing will get past my men.”

Following River’s update, Saul once again laid out the plan that had been developed at The Afterlife. Infiltrate, upload, drill. Pretty simple really, but V knew even the best laid plans can go to shit in seconds.

Judy, Carol, and the Afterlife Netrunner Kai delivered their hacked datashard during the meeting. They then got to work preparing the mobile rig they were bringing along, in case the cyberspace access point in the tower didn’t work for whatever reason. V thanked God they didn’t need to use Mikoshi directly for this. The mobile rig needed to have enough power for two uplinks, so Carol was making all sorts of modifications to make sure it worked. Worst case scenario, they’d have to drag Yuna’s body out of there alive if the uplinks failed. Carol was making sure it wouldn’t come to that.

Similarly, all around the camp a flurry of activity was happening. Several mercs and Aldecaldos were unloading and testing crates of weapons. They were also mounting machine guns, launchers, and other gear to the fleet of desert vehicles parked by the Basilisk. Another team was working alongside them, performing maintenance and upgrades on the vehicles. V spotted Claire amongst them. A large group was scurrying over the Basilisk, directed by Mitch. Several people had joined Viktor and Joel, making medical kits the team could carry, and converting one of the vans into a trauma vehicle. Misty had joined the cooking unit, who were preparing a huge barbecue for that evening.

V stood on the rocky outcropping overlooking the camp, just watching. It stunned her that all these people, from so many walks of life, were working together to help _her_. She had been a nobody streetkid just months ago, and now here she was, commanding the loyalty and dedication of all these men and women. 

At some point, River had joined her on the outcropping. He sat in silence, looking out over the bustling camp just as V was.

“Haven’t really been able to catch up since everything went wild,” he said softly after a minute. “Was worried ‘bout ya, V, when I heard you went into that tower. Thought I might never see you again, which woulda been a damn shame. Ain’t a lot of good people like you left in this world.”

V glowered at that. “I can’t be a good person. Not after everything I’ve done.”

River snickered at that. “After everything you’ve done? V, it doesn’t matter what you do, it’s your reason for doing it. And you’re one of the very few people I know who’s willing to get their hands dirty to do the right thing.”

 _Do the right thing._ That phrase echoed in V’s skull, reminding her of the task she had to complete the next day. “Sometimes it’s not about doing the right thing, but about doing the least bad thing,” said V.

“Maybe so,” said River. “But still, I’ve dealt with a lot of different people, V. And somehow, you still continue to amaze me.”

Another minute of silence passed, with V still trying to organize her thoughts. 

“You know, I followed your advice,” said River. V looked at him curiously. “I got that Private Investigator position you told me about. Called up Regina Jones, and I was practically a shoe in. Now I can take my own cases, work my own hours, be my own boss. After so many years on the force, it feels oddly freeing. And I’ve got you to thank for that.”

V scoffed. “Please, you were born for this job. I was merely giving you a nudge.”

“Well, it was a damn good nudge,” River replied. Then his face softened. “Although, that wasn’t the only thing you inspired in me.”

V listened on attentively.

“This is kind of embarrassing, but you know when we were sitting up on that water tower, with that shitty bottle of whiskey? And I tried to, you know…”

“Kiss me?” V asked teasingly.

“Yeah, that. I see now I was probably stepping on someone’s toes.” He nodded over at the Netrunner tent. “But I still couldn’t deny the longing. I had been ignoring my own loneliness my entire life, first taking care of my sister then being a cop. You made me realize, that having someone close to you isn’t a bad thing. So, while I hope you don’t mind, I kinda…”

“Asked out Panam?” said V knowingly. She’d kept on eye on her two friends ever since the first Afterlife meeting, and she’d secretly hoped something would spring up between them. 

River’s cheeks colored instantly, visible even on his dark skin. “How’d you…?”

“I notice things, River. It’s what I do. And no, before you ask, I don’t have any issues with Panam as your output. What I’m curious about, is how you managed to nab her. ‘Cause that woman is the most stubborn human being I’ve ever met.”

“You’re one to talk,” said River with a smirk. “Well, it wasn’t easy. First time I tried to talk to her, I almost got her fist imprinted on my face. Catching her fist before it hit is what I think impressed her. From there, we just started chatting. And it just feels, so…natural, around her. You know what I mean?”

V nodded, her mind turning to Judy. “Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s how I felt about Judy, even from the first time I met her.”

River smiled. “I’m glad you two have each other, truly. Though, you coulda told me you were batting for the other team a little earlier-hey HEY HEY!”

V had started smacking him with her jacket. “Who I fuck is none of your business, officer,” V said tauntingly between whacks.

“Alright, alright, mercy!” River yelled out. V finally let up, tossing her jacket to the side.

“Glad you and Panam have each other too,” she said.

[-]

That night at the Aldecaldos camp was one of the best ones V could remember. All of her friends, her family, her coworkers, being merry and celebrating. They were all gathered around the central firepit, eating and drinking the spread laid out by the kitchen team. There was syn-steak, ribs, sausages and burgers, and even some real chicken. Bread and corn were being passed around as well. Somebody had broken into the liquor storage, much to Saul’s fury, and beer, wine, and even some of the harder stuff were being imbibed as well. V was actually pleasantly surprised when she didn’t see anyone getting absolutely hammered, avoiding the problem a hangover would cause the next day. Her soldiers were well disciplined, although they did have Weyland and Saul watching every their every move like hawks.

Cassidy had broken out his guitar, and the old cowboy had begun to play at some point. Two more guitars had been procured for Johnny and Kerry, Misty pulled out an old tambourine, and one of the mercs brandished a harmonica. All of a sudden, they had their own personal band. 

V sat in the central part of the group, sharing a beat-up couch with Judy. Panam and River were on her left, and Viktor and Claire were on her right. Everybody was singing and clapping along to the old classics and folk songs their little band was playing. Johnny of course had to include a few of his old Samurai songs, but they lacked their usual power on the acoustic instruments. They actually had a much more melancholy feel than the rockers probably intended.

After another round of songs, Panam stood up, raising her beer bottle.

“Well, I think we all know why we’re here. We’re here because of that woman there,” she said, gesturing at V. “That crazy, brave, loyal city rat who holds a special place in all our hearts. There isn’t a single one here who hasn’t been positively impacted in some way by V, myself most of all.”

Panam turned to fully face V. “She pulled me out of the darkest point of my life, singlehandedly knit this clan back together, and gave me my family back. I owe her my life, and I’d go through hell and back if she called me to, because I know she’d do the same. And how many of you crazy fuckers would join us?”

A cry went up through the camp. Panam held a hand up to her ear. “What was that? Didn’t quite catch that.” Another cry went up, nearly deafening in volume. V felt hot tears pool at the corners of her eyes from the display.

“See that, V? Every single one of these guys are your chooms. And you know what, tomorrow we’re gonna get you in that goddamn tower, save your goddamn life, and stick it to the Corpo dirtbags. ‘Cause we love you V, and we all know you’d do the fucking same for any of us.”

“Here here!” cried Johnny, raising his own beer into the air. Everyone else followed his example, raising their own drinks in a toast as they echoed his call.

V flicked her eyes from person to person, face to face. Over fifty souls, all gathered together to save a hot-headed, stubborn, streetkid merc. The weight of that fact constricted in V’s chest, into something she didn’t think she’d ever feel again since her parents died. It was the feeling of home.

[-]

The camp was alive with a flurry of activity an hour before dawn. The plan was to start the assault at sunrise, when the guard shift changed. Hopefully, they’d catch them right in the middle of it, at the time all the guards would be the least alert, having just woken up or done an entire night shift.

V and Judy were gearing up in their tent. V had a Netrunner suit underneath her regular armored jacket and pants, and a combat harness over that. Judy was also dressed much more practically than her typical attire, sporting an all-black combat uniform, complete with helmet and vest. V had been unable to convince Judy not to come into the tower as part of the fire team, but as she had suspected, Judy refused. So V wasn’t taking any chances with Judy’s security. Judy had her own tech pistol and combat knife in case things got really bad.

V was equipped with her ever-faithful Ajax assault rifle, Rogue’s pistol Pride, and a wickedly sharp katana. The goal was for V to not have to fight at all, but V wasn’t taking any chances. If she didn’t get to Yuna, the mission was all for naught. 

Judy and V stepped outside and walked over to the path to the staging area. A bright glow from dozens of headlights illuminated the still dark landscape.

V stopped at the top of the path, and looked up at the sky. It was just dark enough to see a few stars, twinkling softly against the slowly rising radiance of the sunrise. Judy touched V’s shoulder, bringing V’s attention back to earth. 

“This is it,” said Judy. 

“Yeah, guess it is,” V breathed out. Judy must’ve noticed V’s uneasiness.

“It’ll all work out, you’ll see,” said Judy with a smile. “Didn’t do all this work for nothin’.”

V couldn’t help but kiss that smile. The kiss was soft, tender. Nothing like the emotion fueled ones they’d shared before. To V, it felt like a promise.

“Love you, Jude,” V whispered.

“Love you too, Val,” Judy whispered back.

[-]

V and Judy loaded up into Carol’s car, since they were the team who would upload the virus. The Netrunner Afterlife merc and Cassidy joined them as backup. 

They only needed to wait twenty minutes before the deep thrum of the Basilisk’s engines enveloped the staging area. Mitch and Panam would pilot the Militech tank, leading the convoy. Weyland would follow with Johnny, Saul, and the Afterlife mercs in their two remaining black vans. Carol, Judy, and V would be right behind them. The Aldecaldos would trail and surround them in their desert cars, acting as scouts and security team. The first Afterlife van and the second converted Trauma van would take up the rear, where Viktor and Joel would stay. Saul had already dispatched a small team of Aldecaldos to the abandoned Militech outpost, and another small team would stay and guard the camp. 

The Basilisk hovered smoothly out of the garage and took its position at the head of the convoy. With a roar, two dozen engines were fired up, and Operation Save V was underway.

As they neared the dig site, V had a sudden feeling of dread. There was no way they’d get through this whole thing without casualties. All these people put in danger, because of her. She didn’t have much time to think about it as bullets started whizzing by the car, and the concussion from the Basilisk’s turret echoed across the desert.

“Here we go ladies!” shouted Carol. She gunned the engine, flying through the gap the Basilisk had made in the fence. Bullets were pinging off the modified car’s armor plates like raindrops. V could hear other small arms going off behind her, so the merc team must’ve been returning fire already. The Basilisk stalled in the middle of the inner site, and V could hear Panam cursing over the comms.

“Something’s jammed!” she yelled. “Don’t engage, give us a minute!”

Carol screeched to a halt between the Basilisk and the front gate. Bullets were still ringing off the sides, but much less frequently than a minute before. Screams and shouts could be distantly heard, and V gripped her rifle so hard her hands turned white.

A harsh thumping sounded from somebody banging on the car.

“We have you covered, move to the stairwell!” came a voice from outside. V shot out of the car, using the door as cover to scan her surroundings.

The site was in chaos. Flames were pouring out of destroyed machines, and muzzle flashes could be seen against the dark backdrop of the tunnel. The mercs had taken up defensive positions around the Basilisk, using their own vehicles as cover. The Aldecaldos were scaling the walls and scaffolding around the site, slowly advancing towards the tunnel. V saw the stairway to the control room to her right, maybe a hundred feet over. Several barrels and mining equipment were stacked nearby, which could be used as cover.

“Stay on my ass!” V yelled to her team, who were hunkered down behind the tank. She signaled Weyland, who was parallel with the tank, slightly in front of their line. “Covering fire!”

A barrage of gunfire erupted from the merc’s lines, and the enemy fire died down immediately. V grabbed Judy’s hand, and together they sprinted for the barrels. They barely made it in time, with bullets kicking up dirt right where their feet had been. V looked around frantically for the others. Carol was behind a barrel just behind them, taking potshots with her rifle. The Afterlife Netrunner was with her. V’s heart dropped as she saw Cassidy, who’d been riding with them, collapsed on the ground right next to Carol’s car. A thin stream of blood was leaking from the hole in his head.

“Motherfuckers!” V cried in rage, leaping up and raining fire on the enemy line, 100 yards up. She fired until her magazine emptied, and then Judy was pulling her by her harness towards the stairs. Carol moved up to cover their rear, and the four made it into the small stone outcropping of the stairwell. A yell sounded from above them, and V could only watch as an Arasaka soldier jumped down onto the upper flight. She barely even registered the threat when a crack echoed against the stone, and the soldier dropped. V looked over to see Judy, breathing heavily and holding her pistol aloft.

“Good job, babe,” V said, before taking point up the stairs. Two more soldiers were on the upper flights, and another two in the control room itself. V dispatched them mercilessly. Once in the control room, Carol and Judy fired up the terminal while V and the merc kept watch. 

“How much time?” V called to them. 

Carol held up an open hand. “Five minutes!”

V moved to the window, keeping her head down. It looked as if their forces had moved into the tunnel. Saul’s van was already driving for the opening. But beyond the front gate, was what made V’s blood run cold.

Swirls of dust were being kicked up in the distance, and V could barely make out specks of vehicles even with her Kiroshi implants. They were heading straight towards the site.

“Panam, come in. I see possible Arasaka reinforcements in the distance. We have minutes before they arrive.

“Minutes?” Panam yelled through the comms. “How the hell did they get here that fast?”

“I don’t know, but we have to prepare. Is the tunnel clear?” V asked.

“Looks like it.”

“Then have everyone turn around and set up defensive positions.”

“Basilisk is up and running again,” came Mitch’s voice through the static. “Don’t worry kid, we’ll give ‘em hell.”

V watched as the Basilisk roared back to life, and slowly turn to face the gate.

“How long?” V called to the techs.

“Ninety seconds!” came Carol’s call. 

The next minute and a half passed agonizingly slow as V watched the reinforcements close in. They were maybe a mile out when Carol grabbed her shoulder.

“Upload’s done, let’s get outta here.”

V nodded, and they started down the rear staircase that led into the tunnel.

“Panam, virus has been uploaded. Have you reached the SERC?”

“Yeah, we’re breaking into it now.”

“Understood, we’re on our way.”

The team had barely made it into the tunnel when a shout was heard. 

“Look out!”

An injured Arasaka soldier had struggled to his feet, and had just fired at V. V instinctively covered her head, but something else hit her from the side, away from the path of the bullet. V hit the ground hard as the tunnel erupted in gunfire, the lone soldier being riddled with holes.

V looked up, confused, to see a prone figure next to her. It was an Afterlife merc. The young woman was gasping horribly, blood oozing from her mouth. V immediately pulled the woman to her, looking for the wound. It was on her back, the bullet having pierced through the armor there, passing through her body, and getting caught on the armor on her chest. High caliber tech round. There was nothing V could do.

“Jesus Christ, what were you thinking?!” V choked out, looking the woman in the eyes.

“F-for the Af-aft-erlife,” the woman gasped. She held her hand up, and V took it, squeezing the dying woman’s hand reassuringly.

“Thank you,” V whispered. The woman managed a weak smile, before going limp.

V fell back as her mind went numb. The poor girl couldn’t have been older than twenty, and yet she dove in front of a bullet for her, and died for it.

Judy was suddenly in front of her, gripping her jacket hard.

“V! We gotta keep moving. We gotta keep moving.”

V was lifted to her feet and pulled down the tunnel. She didn’t look back. She didn’t have the strength to.

[-]

Panam already had the SERC up and running by the time V and her team caught up with them. They could barely hear over the roar of its engine.

Battle had already erupted outside, the Arasaka reinforcements meeting their hastily made defenses. According to Mitch, though, they were holding out alright. Hopefully things would stay that way.

V hopped up into the massive drill, with the rest of the fire team maintaining security outside. Amazingly, the planned team had all made it. Saul, Panam, Weyland, Johnny, Takemura, Carol, Judy, and herself. Several Aldecaldos and Afterlife mercs were there too.

“What’s the sich?” V asked Panam as she surveyed the drill.

“Virus is up and working like a charm,” Panam replied, yelling to be heard over the engines. “I just programmed the new route. See that lever there?” She pointed to a red lever above the control panel. An identical one was right above Panam’s head. “We gotta pull these at the same time to get this thing moving.”

V nodded, gripping the lever. Panam did the same, then held up three fingers. She ticked them down, and they both pulled their levers. With a metallic screech, the drill lurched forward. V could see mountains of dirt and rock giving way to the drill through the monitors.

“Two minutes!” Panam yelled.

V could hear the drill turning, into the storage room that the blueprints showed was right next to the tunnel. After an excruciating two minutes, V and Panam were thrown off their feet as the drill broke through the wall of the underground storage room. Panam leapt to her feet, shutting down the drill before it could get any farther. With the deafening roar of the engine gone, V could hear warning sirens from the tower just outside.

“Put these on,” said Panam, tossing a pair of rocket boots to V. V pulled them on quickly, before jumping out of the drill and onto cracked concrete. The rest of the team had already secured the room. Saul directed the remaining Aldecaldos and mercs to guard the drill.

“This way, to the elevators,” said Takemura, slotting in Hanako’s datashard. His eyes blinked blue several times. “I have the access codes. We must not delay.”

The team moved out in single file, Takemura at the lead, V and Judy in the middle. The lower levels were eerily vacant, the only sound being the warning sirens. Storage rooms, research labs, huge servers, all empty of life. At each door, Takemura had to jack in and hack through it, but no other security measures were triggered. It wasn’t until they’d almost reached the elevators when the first of their opposition showed themselves.

It was a squad of Arasaka soldiers, though they looked strange. They were each identical, standing seven feet tall and wearing the heavily armored uniform of Arasaka Special Forces operatives. Each carried a HJSH-18 Masamune assault rifle, with a JKE-X2 Kenshin tech pistol on their sides. But the most disturbing thing about them was their faces. Stark white, with only the barest cutouts for where human anatomy should have been. They looked like mannequins in combat gear.

“What in the fuck-“ said Johnny, before the strange soldiers suddenly opened fire on them. Everybody dove for cover as the soldiers started advancing.

“Grenade!” Weyland yelled, tossing an antipersonnel GASH grenade over the counter he was behind. The room was lit up with light as twenty-one lasers were emitted from the specialty grenade. It disabled two of the soldiers, but the rest kept coming. Panam and V leapt up to return fire, but their bullets seemed to be doing little effect. V even saw one of the soldiers take a headshot, and not even flinch. Blood and other fluids leaked from its skull, but it still kept coming. V noticed the two disabled by the grenade sparking.

“They’re cyborgs!” she yelled out to the fireteam. 

“No shit!” Panam yelled back, finally bringing one of the monstrosities down. Weyland took out another with a point-blank blast from his shotgun, and Johnny was grappling with a third. V watched in horror as the thing literally tossed Johnny across the room, who slammed into the opposite wall. In desperation, V targeted the nearest one and began a quickhack on it. But its firewall codes were so obscure and complex, she didn’t even have a chance. The one she’d targeted had turned its attention on her, and was now running towards her while firing. V dove back behind cover, sheltering Judy, but then the cyborg stopped in midstride. A moment later, its head erupted into flames. Two more followed suit. V looked around in confusion, and saw Takemura standing up, his focus on the remaining two cyborgs, who had also frozen. Smoke began pouring from inside their armor, and they too dropped to the ground.

“The fuck was that?” Carol said into the silence.

“Those were Arasaka’s new super soldiers,” said Takemura, rubbing his temples. “Developed by Saburo. They are cybernetically enhanced clones, each with a custom chip holding a modified Engram of a Special Forces soldier.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us that sooner?” groaned Johnny, rising up from his place on the ground. Panam had rushed over to him, jamming an airhypo into his arm.

“I did not think they would be deployed so quickly. They were still in development when I gained this information.”

“Well, fuck. These are the fuckers they’ve got guarding their tower now,” said Saul. “How’d you make them stop like that?”

Takemura tapped the side of his head. “Override chip. It can decrypt their firewalls fast enough to upload quickhacks.”

“No kidding,” said V. “I tried that, and the firewalls on those things are the most complex I’ve ever seen. Would take way too long with just a neural processor.”

Takemura nodded. “Be on your guard, more shall await us.”

The group gathered themselves, reloaded, and moved past the smoking bodies to the elevator. Takemura jacked in and forced a car down. Once they all were in, Takemura quickly unjacked and rejacked in the car.

“I must constantly re-hack my way into the controls. The access codes change every 10 seconds,” he said. “Be prepared in case the elevator stops.”

Getting to the 70th floor was a war unto itself. Nine times the elevator stopped at a floor, each time with a security team of either cyborgs or Arasaka soldiers waiting in front of it. The team had learned to fire immediately as soon as the doors opened, buying enough time for Takemura to re-hack the elevator and get it moving again. They had to swap elevators halfway up, as their original one became too bullet-riddled to function correctly.

It was at the 60th floor that they had to abandon the elevator. Someone had figured out they were in the tower, and disabled the elevators through a hard connection line, something Takemura couldn’t even hack through. The team filtered out into Arasaka’s indoor forest. V recalled that this was where her last mission to infiltrate the tower started, but that they had to go down instead of up. She wondered if Johnny was thinking the same thing, as he was in control of her body at the time.

The goal was to get the middle of the forest, where the tree canopy was less dense, and use the rocket boots to ascend to the balconies of the 70th floor. From there, they only needed to find the Save Your Soul laboratory. So of course, who else would be waiting at the center but Colonel Graves.

The MaxTac leader was surrounded by a mix of other MaxTac officers and Arasaka cyborgs, each with a gun trained on a member of the team.

“Not bad, that whole thing with the big drill down in the basement,” said Graves. “Too bad your little escapade has to end here. Now, the boss would prefer you alive, so don’t make this too hard on yourselves. Drop your weapons.”

Nobody moved.

“How ‘bout this. I’ll give ya ‘til the count of three. If you don’t drop your weapons and surrender by then, we’ll just execute ya right here. One, two, thr-“

All of a sudden, three of the cyborgs collapsed, flames erupting from their skulls. Nobody noticed Takemura silently move away from the group before they encountered Graves. He had flanked around, and disabled half of the Arasaka Cyborgs with quickhacks. That action lit the forest up with gunfire, people diving for cover wherever they could find it.

V yanked Judy behind a stone bench, making sure she was safe before returning fire. In the center of the clearing, Johnny had tackled Graves during Takemura’s diversion, and the two were grappling on the ground. V killed the MaxTac officer who was trying to separate them. A thunderous clap sounded, and V looked over to see Saul with an anti-material rifle, having just blown the head of a cyborg clean off.

In the midst of the chaos, Johnny and Graves continued to trade blows. Graves had gotten on top of Johnny and was raining punches down onto his head. Johnny had his arms up around his ears, trying to lessen the damage from older man. Graves reached down, pulling out a combat knife, and attempted to plunge it into Johnny. But Johnny caught the man’s wrist just before he could stab him, wrenching him to the side. Graves rolled away from the force of the throw, but Johnny was already charging, ramming his shoulder into Graves’ side. Graves collapsed again, and Johnny extended his monowire. The shimmering orange whip crackled with electricity. Johnny swung at Graves, who rolled away at the last second, moving much faster than he had been before. Graves swung himself up and extended a shock baton.

“It’s all over for you now, Gallagher,” he said, a crazy glint in his eyes. Blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth. Johnny spat to the side.

“We’ll see about that.”

Graves charged, and Johnny barely blocked his overhead swing. He could hear the buzzing of the baton as it passed by his head. The monowire flashed as it made contact with the baton, energy arcing from both weapons. Johnny dodged another three precise, deadly swings from Graves, before one finally caught him on the arm. Johnny felt his nerves seize up as electricity arced through the limb, rendering it useless. Sensing an advantage, Graves pushed his assault, jabbing Johnny over and over with the baton. With his limbs failing and pain flooding his mind, Johnny used the last of his strength to spin away from one of Graves’ slower attacks. Surprised at the move, Graves didn’t have time to react as Johnny’s monowire wrapped around his throat. Graves immediately began choking, even as the monowire injected its own painful arcs of electricity into his body.

“Fuck…you…Gallagher-“ he rasped. Johnny tightened the hold around the man’s neck, his body beginning to jerk from the amount of energy coursing through it.

“Not this time,” said Johnny, tightening his hold even more. “And the name’s not Gallagher. It’s Silverhand.”

With a final yank, Graves’ head was sliced clean off. It fell to the floor, bouncing sickeningly. With a grunt, Johnny pushed the smoking carcass away from him, and retracted his monowire. He was finally able to notice the destruction around him. Corpses littered the clearing, some shot, others having sustained lethal damage from quickhacks or grenades. To his relief, none of the bodies were familiar. The fireteam slowly began trickling into the clearing, coming out from behind hastily formed cover.

“Well, that was awesome,” said Panam, coming up to Johnny. “Brutal, but awesome. Nice work, Silverhand.”

A groan sounded through the clearing, and everyone turned to the source. Weyland was swaying on his feet, a hand clutching a wound on his stomach.

“Oh my God,” exclaimed V, rushing over to him. 

“S’just a fleshwound girl, don’t’cha worry ‘bout me.” He pointed up at the ceiling. “Finish da mission.”

Panam and Saul had knelt down to inspect the wound.

“Weyland’s right, we can’t stay here any longer than we have to,” said Saul. “We’ll take care of him, you guys keep going. “

V was about ready to object, when Panam put a hand on her shoulder.

“Go, V. We’ll be alright. Go do what we fuckin’ came here for.”

Reluctantly, V, Judy, Carol, Takemura, and Johnny readied their rocket boots, and soared up to the overhanging balconies high up near the ceiling of the forest. Takemura guided them down several hallways, each lined with a different, large research lab. Finally, they arrived at a large, fortified door at the end of a central hallway.

“This is the one,” said Johnny. “Came outta there just a week ago.”

Instead of jacking in, Takemura simply walked up to the door and knocked. Three sharp raps. Another two sounded from the other side of the door. Takemura knocked back, three quick taps, a pause, then another two. V realized it must’ve been a pre-planned code.

The door slid open, to reveal Hanako Arasaka in a lab coat. 

“I am glad to see you have made it. This way, please.”

Hanako led them into the research lab, and into a side room. The room looked like a hospital, everything colored the typical Arasaka white. Beds and monitors lined the walls, all unoccupied save one, at the very back. V’s eyes widened as she saw her salvation for the first time.

Yuna Arasaka was quite young, especially compared to her family. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, with smooth porcelain skin and a serene, beautiful face. Her hair was stark white, pulled up into a bun. The monitor by her bed beeped slowly, indicating her heart beats.

The only one with a more fixed look on the young Arasaka was Takemura. He had a look of sadness, longing, and joy, all at once.

Hanako motioned at the bed beside Yuna, waiting for V. V laid down on the bed, her own heart beating erratically. 

“There is a Cyberspace access point by each of the beds,” said Hanako. “However, they link directly to the Save Your Soul database. We need to make these two link to each other.”

“On it,” said Carol. She and Judy unloaded their mobile Netrunning equipment, arraying it on the ground. Carol started up the equipment’s main terminal and began to type vigorously. Hanako went to stand by V’s bed, leaning in so only she could hear.

“You recall our deal, yes?” she asked. V nodded. Hanako’s deal was to bring Yuna back so she could destroy Saburo’s backup Engram, while V killed the man herself. V had agreed to it only to get the access codes Takemura had used to get them there. Hanako already knew that if V agreed, she’d die soon after, so V didn’t want to make her suspicious. “Good. Bring back my cousin, V.”

Johnny was next in the cue. “Feeling a bit of deja-vu yet, kid?” he asked.

V shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya, was out for most of your hijinks last time.”

Johnny smiled, and V could still see that infuriating rocker boy behind that new face. 

“Don’t forget what I told ya, V. You deserve a second chance, this city doesn’t. We need you here.” With that, he left her side, taking up a security position by the door.

After helping Carol get the initial setup going, Judy had come to sit on V’s bed. She grabbed V’s hand with her own, and toyed with V’s necklace using the other.

“Here we are”, said Judy. “Where we wanted to be over a month ago. Jeez, it feels like a lifetime now, huh?”

“Yeah,” said V. It was hard to imagine that the first infiltration into Arasaka, to grab that relic chip that spiraled her life out of control, was only a month prior. That Jackie’s death was only a month prior.

“We’re ready,” said Carol from behind her terminal. “Jack in.”

Judy herself pulled V’s neural cord from behind her ear, being gentle as can be. She slotted it into the socket in the terminal beside her, the one designed to interface with Save Your Soul. Hanako did the same thing with Yuna’s. Then Judy leaned down, kissing V with unbridled passion.

“Come back to me,” she whispered. Then V knew only darkness.

[-]

For a moment, everything was calm. There was no stress, no sorrow, no fear. It was peace in oblivion, serenity from nothing. It was the void, where nothing was and nothing would be. But that infinite moment of blissful silence was not meant to be, as the blue glow of Cyberspace erupted into V’s vision. The setting was the same as when she’d used Mikoshi, a long, thin bridge leading up to a stout pyramid. V ran up the path, and to the top of the Pyramid, to see Alt waiting for her.

The AI was in her human form, fluctuating blue fractals of code coalescing into the shape of a woman. Framing her from behind was the intense light of Blackwall. Next to her was another construct, much smaller, and also in the shape of a woman. V figured that to be Yuna Arasaka’s Engram.

“Here we are, at the crossroads once again,” said Alt, her booming voice echoing into the void. “It is here that you must make your final choice, for never again shall I allow a human mind into my realm. Who shall gain new life, and who shall perish?”

For the millionth time, V’s options ran through her head like a battle. Take Yuna’s body for herself, and live a life on the run, on a war-torn planet. But it would still be a full life, with her friends and family, and most importantly with Judy. Or return Yuna to the world, and help her to stop the next great Corpo war before it even begins, saving millions. Then live out her remaining days in her own failing body, and eventually let her loved ones watch her die.

V’s mind swirled in anguish. She hated Cyberspace, hated how she couldn’t feel, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do any of the human things necessary when processing a situation. So instead, V looked inward. She recalled that night on the rooftop with Judy, and the embrace that cemented her decision. V reached deep, deep into her soul, and found her decision to still be the same. 

_“These stand as my promise to you, Judy Alvarez. That no matter what happens, I’m never truly gone. And wherever I end up, I will always love you.”_

V looked up at the shining form of Alt before her, and answered.

[-]

_And we have arrived at the split. As I said at the start of the story, I am writing two endings for V, giving you, dear reader, a choice for V’s fate (though I know most of you will read both endings anyway cuz you love my writing lul). From here, Part 1 is over, and Parts 2 and 3 will begin. Each new part will be a different ending, separate from the other, and not consecutive. Please read one part at a time, or else you might get confused. Thank you for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed so far. Be sure to kudo/review if you feel like it!_


	11. Part 2: Sacrifice, Chapter 1

**Another Choice**

**Part 2: Sacrifice, Chapter 1**

_Welcome to Another Choice, Part 2: Sacrifice. For readers who want Yuna to get her body back and help V to stop the next Corpo war._

[-]

_The Hanged Man. The twelfth Major Arcana._

_Hung by the foot, a common punishment. A face serene, there by his own accord._

_A sense of duty, a noble sacrifice._

_An act borne of wisdom; wisdom gained, wisdom lost._

_A divine martyr._

[-]

“I choose…death.”

V hung her head as the words echoed into the void, and hardened her heart for what was to come next.

“Very well,” said Alt. She waved her hand, and the smaller form of Yuna Arasaka burst into a ball of light, then disappeared. In its place stood a rendering of the woman herself, just as she appeared in the laboratory. But something was off about her. Small pieces of blue light were floating off of her like smoke. V realized it was her Engram deteriorating now that it was active.

Yuna gazed around the fragment of Cyberspace in confusion and wonder, not realizing her own deterioration. “Where…where am I?” she asked. “Is this the Cyber Realm?”

Alt didn’t answer, instead touching a finger to Yuna’s forehead. The woman went stiff as a board, falling to the ground without a sound.

“She has been returned to the Mortal Realm,” said Alt. Alt then held her hand out to V, in offering. “I grant you this final chance to live beyond Blackwall with me, in eternal peace. Never again shall I offer this to another human mind.”

V shook her head, her expression hardening. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve still got shit to do.”

Alt retracted her hand, and turned her back on V, walking towards the glowing gate of Blackwall. V watched her go, until the AI was completely gone from sight. All of a sudden, the fragment of Cyberspace collapsed, and all V saw was darkness once more.

[-]

V was awoken by shaking. She cracked her eyes open to see Johnny hovering over her, a hand on her shoulder. He looked tired, in a way she wasn’t used to physically seeing, and his face fell as he met her eyes.

“So this is the path you’ve chosen,” he said softly. “You’re a damn fool, V. But a brave one at that.”

He helped V to sit up. Something was tickling her nose, and she wiped at it. Her hand came away bloody. The trip to Cyberspace was already taking its toll on her health. She ignored it for now, and surveyed the room. But what she saw next shattered her heart into dust.

Judy was sitting against the wall, a blank, dead look in her eyes. She was shaking, shivering, and her breaths were coming in short gasps. Carol was kneeling in front of her, trying to reach her, but Judy just stared right past the Aldecaldo. She was fully in shock.

V jumped out of the bed, falling to her knees by Judy’s side. She pushed Carol out of the way, cupping Judy’s face in her hands, forcing her to meet her gaze. A spark of recognition lit up Judy’s face, and a single tear leaked from the corner of her eye, slowly carving a track through the dirt and dust on her face. And then the dead, distant look took over again.

“Jude? Judy, look at me. Judy, please. I need you now more than ever.”

No response. V reached down, pulling her old necklace up out of Judy’s shirt.

“Judy, look. Look. Remember my promise? I told you I’d always love you, no matter what happened to me. No matter what.”

Judy’s gaze suddenly shifted from blank to righteous fury. She started shaking even harder. In one swift movement, she shoved V away from her and shot to her feet, running into the hallway. Johnny and Carol ran after her. V didn’t.

V felt as if an icicle had been plunged into her chest. Never before had she felt such grief, such guilt. It washed over her like a wave, threatening to drive her mad. It hadn’t felt this bad when her parents died. It hadn’t even felt this bad when Jackie died.

Again, her mind turned to the unfairness of it all. She couldn’t have a lover, she couldn’t have a future, she couldn’t have a life, all because of fucking Arasaka. And now that she’d officially made her decision, there was no going back. It was time to finally give up on herself, and focus on the real reason she charged back into this godforsaken tower. With a titanic effort, V compressed all her sadness, guilt, and grief into diamond hard, crystal clear rage.

She turned her attention to the remaining people in the room. Yuna, Hanako, and Takemura were in a far corner, speaking in rapid Japanese. Yuna was holding a nutrition bar and a glass of water, and was throwing back pill after pill. Hanako was holding a datapad, and Takemura was passing Yuna pill bottles. V scooped up her Ajax from the ground and stalked over to the group.

“Are we gonna get on with the plan?” she asked in a cold monotone. 

Hanako held up a finger, never breaking eye contact with Yuna. V clenched her rifle so hard her hands turned white. Oh how she wanted to blast every single one of them.

Hanako finally turned to V. “We are ready to shut down Save Your Soul. All of Yuna’s administrator privileges are still active. However, the central databank is in my father’s office. It must be accessed directly from the vault computer. V, you and your team must clear the office and floor it is on, number seventy-five. Takemura will assist. Yuna and I will follow when it is safe. Do this, and our deal will be complete.”

“Alright, I’ll go kill your dad for a mil and to save the world.” V leaned in until she was nose to nose with Hanako. “But keep this in mind. When I’m through here, we’re done. If I ever see your face again, I’ll kill you.”

V spun on her heel, and moved into the hall, Takemura on her heel. Johnny spotted them, and ran to catch up.

“You doin’ the contract?” he asked.

V didn’t answer.

“Thought so,” he said. “Judy’s with Carol, they’re making their way back to Panam and Saul. They’ll rendezvous with us on the roof.”

V’s stride lost its rhythm for a moment before she regained her footing. Johnny took that to be a good sign, that Judy still meant something to the idiotic merc.

Judy had been furious in a way he’d never seen before. She refused to talk or listen to reason from either him or Carol, and had instead took her rage out on a nearby laboratory. She’d eventually lost her adrenaline and allowed herself to be led away by Carol, all while sobbing fiercely. Johnny feared this might be the last straw for the poor BD tech, and had Carol take custody of Judy’s pistol, in case she tried anything rash.

The trio reached the elevators, which Takemura hacked open. Johnny still found it disconcerting how no reinforcements had caught up to them. With all the shooting they’d done going up, he had expected legions of Arasaka soldiers to storm their position in the labs. Part of this issue was answered by Takemura.

“Elevators are still disabled through a hard line. We cannot use them.”

V cursed. Takemura then suggested either the stairs or going up through the courtyard. They still had their rocket boots on. V elected for the courtyard, hoping for more of a surprise factor that way. Takemura led them to a five-story indoor walkway area, which V recognized from Cyberspace. This was the setting where she had talked to Alt in some of their encounters, the square courtyard like area leading up to several levels. Takemura pointed to the highest level.

“That is the floor of the CEO’s office. We can ascend through the inner courtyard.”

The trio fired up their rocket boots and soared to the top. Several large glass windows separated the outside walkway from the office. V raised her rifle to break one, when Takemura held up a hand to stop her.

“Do not fire, they are bulletproof. There is a door nearby.”

Takemura led them down a side hallway, until they arrived at an unassuming metal door. Takemura jacked into the keypad, but nothing happened.

“Hurry it up,” Johnny hissed through his teeth. Takemura shook his head.

“My codes are not working. The office must have its own encryption system.”

Johnny huffed and pulled something off his belt. V recognized the object as a brick of high explosives.

“Are you crazy?” Takemura exclaimed. Johnny just shouldered him aside and placed the brick over the latch of the door. Everyone backed up down the hallway and took cover, and Johnny hit the detonator. The explosion went off like a grenade, blasting the door inward. Even more alarms started going off, clashing with the ones the whole tower had been blaring. V took point through the door, her rifle raised and ready.

They had blown their way into a control room of some type, with monitors and equipment lining the walls. There was another door on the other side of the room, which Takemura was able to hack open. As the electronic lock clicked, V, Johnny, and Takemura stormed into the office of Saburo Arasaka.

The man himself was standing behind his desk, looking out over the city through the grand windows lining the outer three walls of the office. The day was cloudy and overcast, and flashes of light in the distance indicated an approaching thunderstorm. Saburo, in the stolen body of his son Yorinobu, was dressed in a perfectly tailored black Kimono. A katana in an ornate sheath hung at his side. He didn’t turn as he spoke.

“I have been expecting you, mercenary,” he said in a cultured Japanese accent. “Impressive, how you broke into my tower. You have been sent to kill me, have you not?”

V fired at his head as an answer. The bullets cracked off of the glass separating the rooms she and Saburo were in.

“I am sorry to say, your mission will not succeed. I know of the plot to destroy me. Whomever has employed you, whether it was another corporation or otherwise, shall be greatly disappointed. You see, I am no longer bound by mortality. Even if this body dies, I can just get another. So whatever you do, you will lose, and my war will begin. It is sad I must kill you, you would have made a valuable pawn.”

V realized this was an advantage. Saburo didn’t know that they knew about his backup Engrams, and that Yuna could destroy them. She had to kill Saburo’s body now, before he could find out and prepare an escape route. Now, if only she could antagonize him enough to attack.

“How ‘bout you come out of your little box, and face me for real?” V called out.

“That won’t be necessary,” said Saburo, finally turning around to regard them. “I am sure you met some of my new security forces on your way up here. Efficient weapons, are they not? But they were not the only model I developed.”

Saburo reached down and pressed something behind his desk. On either side of the team, two large doors were being retracted into the ceiling. Standing behind each was another cyborg, though these looked substantially different. 

The face was the same featureless white, but the body had the same augments Adam Smasher’s did when he died. Reinforced metal plating over titanium coated hydraulics, rocket pods on each shoulder, and machine guns mounted to each arm. Each stood seven feet tall. They came alive with a metallic thrum, raising their mounted guns at V and her team.

“Now, mercenary, I have a proposition for you. Tell me who hired you, and only you shall pay the price for this insurrection. Your companions may yet live. If you do not tell me, I shall have all of you executed immediately, and your headquarters in the city razed to the ground. Do you understand?”

V had frozen with the imminent threat on either side of her. Her mind was also racing with the implications of Saburo’s offer. If she told him it was Hanako who had ordered the hit on him, then she would surely be tracked down and captured, possibly even killed, along with Yuna who was with her. And then their secret weapon would be lost, and the mission would fail. But if she didn’t tell him anything, she and her whole team, her friends, would die right here. She decided to buy time.

“You’re right, it was Grand who hired me. Wanted to stop the war before it even began.”

Johnny whispered almost imperceptibly to V’s side. “30 seconds.”

Saburo didn’t look convinced. “I believe you are lying. Joseph Grand desires war as much as I do. He and I were rivals of a sort during the last Unification war. He has been biding his time for another chance at my company ever since.”

“Well it’s the truth, believe it or not. Now let them go,” V demanded.

Johnny held up ten fingers behind his back. V braced herself for whatever was coming.

“No, I don’t think I will. Remember, it was you who killed them. Fire when rea-“

A thump reverberated from somewhere lower in the tower, and a second later all the lights flickered off. Johnny wasted no time, expecting the distraction. It was Carol’s idea to shove a mini EMP grenade into the main power lines that ran through the indoor forest. Johnny had given her a signal to activate as soon as they had been surrounded by the cyborgs. 

He grabbed the last charge off his belt, throwing it hard at the corner where the glass met the wall to Saburo’s office. As soon as he did, the cyborgs opened fire.

V and Johnny dropped to the ground as bullets sprayed above them. Takemura had already jumped on the nearest cyborg when the lights cut out. Johnny cursed as the detonator flew from his hand as he hit the ground. It landed just under the charge.

As quickly as they had cut out, the lights flickered back on. Johnny and V reacted instantly, Johnny leaping at the other cyborg as V dove forward for the detonator. A burst of fire came from the gun on the cyborg’s wrist, digging deep holes in a line inches from V’s side. V was forced to roll away to not be hit.

Takemura was still contending with his own cyborg. His eyes were flashing blue, an indication that he was trying to perform a quickhack. It didn’t seem to be working, as the cyborg continued to thrash in an attempt to throw him off. Takemura was clinging to the back of it like a monkey, his lower body swinging wildly. It was there that he noticed a jack-in port on the cyborg’s spinal cord. With a yell, he pulled himself farther up the programmed soldier, and jacked into the port. Between the direct connection and Hanako’s override chip, Takemura successfully got through the firewalls. He uploaded a confusion daemon, and the cyborg suddenly went very still as it rebooted. The daemon in place, Takemura fell off its back onto the ground. The cyborg, unable to tell friend from foe, locked onto the largest threat in the room. The other cyborg.

Johnny had been grappling with the giant machine, trying to keep its arms aimed away from V. It had finally overpowered him, hitting him with a glancing blow that sent him flying across the room. He collided with the far wall, falling to the ground in a heap. His vision was blurry, but he could still see the cyborg leveling its gun at him. He prepared himself for the worst, as the gun spit out an ear shattering burst. But the rounds didn’t come out of the cyborg targeting him, it came out of the other one that Takemura had been fighting. The heavy, armor piercing rounds shredded through its metal plating, and it fell to the ground in a smoking heap. Johnny looked up in amazement.

Saburo had noticed this as well, and actually looked concerned for the first time. He began backing up, looking over at the door to his left. V noticed this as well.

_You’re not getting away this time, you sick motherfucker._

V dove for the detonator, scooping it up. She was positioned right below the charge, but she didn’t have any time to get out of the way. She covered her head with her arms, and activated the detonator.

The blast caught V with terrifying force, flinging her into a couch like a ragdoll. The concussion had also knocked Saburo over from the other side. V forced her eyes to open, as her hearing had been deafened by the blast.

The charge had created a sizeable hole in the wall, and severely cracked the glass, but there wasn’t enough room to squeeze through. V’s heart dropped.

Saburo had pulled himself to his feet, and laughed as he noticed the minor damage. He didn’t notice Takemura as he jacked back into the remaining cyborg. His eyes flashed blue for a second, and the cyborg raised its arm at the cracked glass. Its mounted machine gun went off with rapid fire blasts, and the already damaged glass gave way under the heavy firepower. V was already moving for the opening, not even seeing the second cyborg erupt in flames as Takemura disabled it. She’d dropped her rifle in the confusion, so she drew her pistol. Rogue’s pistol. The heavy metal felt right in her hand as she raised it to fire at Saburo. But the Corpo had already drawn his ornate katana, and was charging at V. V was able to get off two shots, but her aim was off from the blast, and the shots went wild. Saburo closed the distance.

Takemura and Johnny both moved to assist V, when a crash was heard from the other room. Several Arasaka security officers had come in through the blown door, brandishing shock batons. The two men glanced at each other, then moved to intercept the new threat.

Saburo slashed at V’s head, but V was able to duck at the last second. She tried to raise her pistol again, but Saburo slammed the hilt of his katana into her hand, and she dropped it. He stabbed at her, and she rolled to the side, coming up with her back to the windows. She reached down, drawing her own katana. It was old, a relic. She’d taken it from the penthouse suite where Maiko betrayed her. Its razor-sharp blade glinted brightly in the dim room.

Saburo started circling her, his weapon raised to strike. 

“You have no chance, mercenary. I have studied the way of the blade for over a hundred years.”

“Yeah? Prove it,” V spat. Then she attacked. 

V quickly realized she’d made a mistake. Saburo’s defense was impeccable, his moves smooth while using the least amount of energy necessary. V’s swings, in comparison, were sloppy, slow, with too much power behind them. It was after several blade crosses that V realized the old man was toying with her. She clenched her teeth in rage.

Saburo must have noticed this, because he abruptly shifted from defense to offense, coming at V with a flurry of blows. V caught several on her own blade, but had to jump back to avoid several more. Two got through, cutting across her right upper arm and left thigh. The cuts weren’t deep, but they hurt. V fell back, clutching the wound on her arm, her left leg limping and dripping blood. Saburo smiled a sinister grin and came at her again.

V only lasted another fifteen seconds before her own katana flew from her grip, the hilt wet with her blood. V watched it sail across the room and clatter to the ground next to the desk. As if in slow motion, she turned her head to see Saburo’s thrust. His blade pierced her lower right abdomen, coming out the other side, barely missing her spine. She didn’t even register the pain, only felt her legs giving way as she slumped against the window. The tip of the blade protruding from her back made a clink as it touched the glass.

Saburo was speaking, but she couldn’t hear anything between the ringing in her ears and the rushing of blood through her head. He had walked over to her fallen pistol, picking it up and racking it. He came back over to V, pressing the cool metal of the barrel against her forehead. V couldn’t have fought if she wanted to. A cold wave was washing over her body, from her head to her feet, leaving everything numb and unresponsive as it passed. All she could do was look up at the face of the man who would kill her.

The last thing she was expecting was for his head to explode. In one second, it was there, talking to her, the next it was a gory mess on the window, the body toppling to the ground. Standing behind Saburo was Johnny, his Malorian smoking in his hand. Beyond him were the unmoving bodies of several Arasaka security officers. Had V still had her wits about her, she would’ve realized Johnny and Takemura defeated a security team, and Johnny had killed Saburo Arasaka, saving her life. At least for the time being.

Johnny knelt be her side, inspecting her wounds desperately. In the other room, Takemura was on a phone, calling Hanako and Yuna to the office. They arrived in minutes, instantly moving to the large vault door to the left of the desk, the room where Saburo had tried to escape to. Hanako didn’t even so much as glance at V, going to the keypad by the vault. But Yuna did. Her expression was sad, but determined. She walked over to V and Johnny, kneeling down beside them.

“We must help her!” she exclaimed to Johnny.

“Already got my team coming up, you go end this thing. We did our part, you do yours,” Johnny said dispassionately. 

Yuna nodded, and turned to V. “Thank you, V, for this service you have done for my family. Your honor is unquestionable. I am sorry it had to be this way.”

V could barely make out the words. Yuna leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on V’s temple, before standing and following her cousin into the vault. Johnny was talking to her now, but it was all nonsense in her mind. She was losing her grasp on consciousness as blood continued to leak from her wounds. Johnny jammed an airhypo into her chest, but that would only temporarily stabilize her, as long as the katana stayed lodged in her abdomen. But pulling it out would only cause more damage.

Hanako and Yuna had come back out from the vault and were speaking to Takemura. Their faces were relieved, gratified. V took that to mean a successful mission. She leaned her head back against the cool glass. At long last, her destiny was complete. They had eliminated Saburo. Without him as their scapegoat, Militech would have no choice but to rescind the war declaration. There would be peace.

 _Peace._ That was a nice word. V would’ve liked to have her own little slice of peace. As darkness infringed on her vision, her mind turned to a memory. A single, precious memory. 

_“So…yesterday…what was that, exactly?” Judy asked, avoiding eye contact._

_“Don’t remember, or you want me to remind you?” V asked cheekily._

_Judy suddenly had a serious tone. “You know exactly what I’m tryna say. What did it mean, like, to you?”_

_V bit her lip, thinking about the girl in front of her. The answer came without her even thinking about it. “Think it…I mean…I was hoping it was the beginning of something nice. Unless…you see things differently?” V braced herself for a possible rejection._

_Judy looked back out at the water, but a small smile now graced her features. “Ugh…Can be such a gonk sometimes,” she said. “Ruined my plans, you know that? Was gonna leave Night City in the dust, for good. Even started packing. But now I think…Think I gotta stay.”_

_Then she turned to V with a smile filled with pure happiness, her lovely face illuminated by the early morning sunrise. And in that moment, all V felt was peace._


	12. Part 2: Sacrifice, Chapter 2

**Another Choice**

**Part 2: Sacrifice, Chapter 2**

[-]

_This is Arif Iqbal, reporting with WNS News, covering the latest breaking story from Corpo Plaza._

_In a surprising turn of events, a currently unknown team of mercenaries from The Afterlife organization stormed Arasaka Tower early this morning and killed its CEO, Saburo Arasaka. Hanako Arasaka, daughter of Saburo Arasaka and sole heir to his corporate empire, has replaced her father as CEO of Arasaka Corp._

_The CEO of Militech, Joseph Grand, has been arrested for questioning on several cases of war profiteering, corporate espionage, and numerous counts of homicide and attempted homicide. Senior Vice President of Militech, Cashmere Gallagher, is set to take over the position. Though it has not yet been confirmed, reports out of Militech are calling for the rescinding of the war declaration._

_Militech and Arasaka executives have already mentioned peace talks between their two companies, and local militarization in several countries is already being disbanded._

_This is a great day for Night City, folks. With war no longer on the horizon, businesses are reopening and the stock market is already starting to recover. Next time you see an Afterlife mercenary, you should thank them. They saved our city. This is Arif Iqbal, signing off._

[-]

The remainder of the mission was easy with Saburo gone. Without direct orders, the security forces in the tower went into limbo. Hanako used the tower-wide PA system, informing everyone that Saburo was dead, and she was taking the head of the company. They were all to stand down.

With the air defenses taken offline, Weyland was able to call in his waiting AV, and evacuated the team from the roof. Takemura stayed behind with Hanako and Yuna.

It was a good thing they didn’t have to deal with any opposition, because the team was ragged. Weyland had a pressure bandage over his wound and could barely walk. Johnny was covered in bruises and cuts and had a mild concussion. Judy had passed out at some point, and had to be carried to the roof. But V was the worst.

Weyland had had the AV pick up Viktor from the dig site once word was received that several members of the team were injured. Their small force had been able to successfully hold off the quick-reaction force from Arasaka, but not without costs. Approximately a third of their members were either dead or injured. They were currently regrouping at the Aldecaldo camp.

Viktor operated on V the entire flight back to the camp. They weren’t able to go to the clinic or The Afterlife in the city, as both were swarming with reporters and news crews. V had a severe concussion, ruptured eardrums, several contusions on her upper body, long cuts on her arm and leg, and the stab wound from Saburo’s katana, along with a deadly amount of blood loss. Her heart stopped three times during the flight. Panam had a needle in her arm, with a tube leading to V’s, feeding her blood. Panam had found out she was the same blood type as V early on in their friendship, and was now very glad for it.

They transferred V to the ripperdoc trailer, where Viktor continued to operate. Joel arrived shortly after, caring for the injured mercenaries and Aldecaldos in the next room over. As night fell over the desert, Viktor collapsed back into a chair, his arms and apron drenched with blood. Panam immediately rushed over to him.

“How is she?” she asked.

Viktor pulled off his glasses, wiping his eyes with his forearm. He looked deathly exhausted.

“I got her stabilized, but her stint in Cyberspace and the blood loss accelerated her condition. She has maybe a day left, before complete organ failure.” His voice broke on the last word. “I’m not sure if she’ll even wake up.”

Panam turned to denial, her stress fueling her temper. “What the fuck do you mean she has a day!? She had weeks to live just days ago! Fucking fix her!” She slammed a tray of instruments to the ground. “Fix her!” she screamed again. Mitch had come up and started dragging her away. She shoved him off, and stalked away into the desert. Mitch placed a reassuring hand on Viktor’s shoulder, who hadn’t reacted during the outburst.

“I’m sorry ‘bout her doc. It’s how she shows she cares. We all appreciate what you did here, any amount of time you can give us is a blessing.” Mitch helped Viktor to stand. “Let’s get you cleaned up so you can rest. Easy, now.”

Mitch led Viktor to the showers, through the silent camp. Nobody was working or talking. It was the complete opposite of the night before, when they were all celebrating around the campfire. They all knew the mission was a success, and that the war had been averted. It was already on the news. They just didn’t care. All thoughts were turned to the mercenary in the ripperdoc trailer, breathing her last, and to the friends who had been lost for the greater good.

Judy was sitting alone on the stone outcropping looking over the camp. After waking up from her fainting spell in the tower, they’d explained to her what had happened since, and that V was still unconscious. After taking the news, she’d gone to the outcropping. Several people had attempted to join her, but all had been turned away or ignored. It was shortly after the sun went down when Johnny sat beside her.

“Got an update from Viktor,” he said. Judy didn’t respond, didn’t even react. “The verdict isn’t good.” Still no reaction. Johnny took a deep breath, sorting his thoughts. He had never really been good with the delicate stuff, but now it was of paramount importance he didn’t fuck this up. Judy deserved to know.

“V’s health took a hit, between the blood loss and Cyberspace. Her condition was accelerated. She has maybe a day left.”

Judy flinched, but that was all the recognition he got. Johnny sighed. He’d seen a broken heart before, plenty of times, but this was different. Judy was broken, utterly destroyed. 

“I’m sure she would like if you were down there with her. Maybe you’re the one who can wake her up, so we can say goodbye.”

That did it for Judy. Her face screwed up in rage and grief.

  
“Why the fuck should I be there for her when she abandoned me? She promised to never leave me again. She _fucking promised_! She knew how much I needed her, and now she’s gonna die.”

Her voice broke off in a squeak as she hung her head, her shoulders shaking.

“You and I both know why she did it. V’s heart is too big to let innocent people suffer, especially if she can do something about it. Her choice saved millions from being thrust into another power-grab war. You and I may not like it, but she felt it was the right thing to do, and we can’t fault her for that.”

Judy just shook her head. “It just hurts _so much,_ ” she whimpered.

Johnny pulled her to him, and she started sobbing into his shirt. “I know it does. God help me, I know.”

[-]

A vigil was held over V throughout the night. Judy had come down from the outcropping, and was sitting at V’s side, holding her hand. Johnny, Panam, Misty, Kerry, and River were also there in the trailer. Viktor was passed out somewhere in the camp. Weyland had left with Claire, taking the remaining Afterlife mercs with him, to deal with the rising shitstorm in the city. Saul and Mitch were getting the camp back together, fixing vehicles, tending to the wounded, and arranging watches. Panam said that that was how they dealt with grief.

It wasn’t until mid-morning the next day that V stirred. It started with groans, and then coughing, which led to pained screams. Everyone leapt to action. Someone went to wake Viktor, while others grabbed food and water and medicine. Judy clung to V’s hand, begging her to stay calm. V started to thrash as Viktor came running up, his shirt not even buttoned. Viktor immediately plunged a needle into V’s IV, which helped to calm her. V’s eyes, which had been wide with panic and pain, the pupils so small they could barely be seen, slowly relaxed.

“V, baby, look at me,” said Judy, cupping V’s face in her hands.

“Ju-dy…” The name was barely a whisper on V’s lips. Someone handed Judy a water bottle, which she brought to V’s lips. V took a few sips, then started coughing again, her face screwing up in pain.

“S’alright babe, breathe. Please, V, just breathe.”

V calmed again, sinking into the bed.

“Can’t…hear…”

Viktor reached behind him, doing something on the terminal sitting there. V heard a faint whirring, before the world had sound again.

“Had to install some hearing aids,” Viktor said. “Your eardrums were shredded.”

“What…happened?” V asked weakly.

Her friends caught her up on what happened after Hanako and Yuna destroyed the Engram. Their escape, Hanako taking over Arasaka, the news reports, Grand’s arrest. V didn’t fail to notice the tension thick in the air, though.

“What’s the bad news?” she croaked. Everyone flinched. Viktor took a deep breath.

“Between your time in Cyberspace and the blood loss, your condition was accelerated, V.”

V felt thin tendrils of dread grasp her heart. Viktor turned a monitor by her head around, which displayed the same scan of her brain as the one he had shown her at his clinic. But this time, instead of half of the arcs being red, almost all of them were.

“The neural degeneration is nearly complete.” A tear leaked from the side of Viktor’s eye. “You have a matter of hours to live, before complete organ failure.”

V was shocked, and sad, but the news didn’t hit her as hard as she expected. She figured a part of her was ready to die in that tower, and that part was still waiting. She couldn’t fight it, so she had accepted it. But having these last few hours was a treasure no amount of eddies could buy.

She reached over and softly touched Viktor’s hand. He couldn’t meet her eye.

“Thank you, Vik. For giving me this last bit of time.”

“Anything for you, V.”

V realized something then, that she didn’t have to hide from any of these people. Not anymore.

“Not V, Vik. Valerie.”

Viktor looked up at that, and managed a watery smile.

The remainder of the morning and the early afternoon was surprisingly productive for the somber camp. Valerie used the time to start settling her affairs. She called Wakako, passing the mantle of Queen of the Afterlife to her. Then she called Weyland and Claire, thanking them for their support, and signed over the deed of The Afterlife itself to them both, along with another deal she’d been arranging. A fully equipped ripperdoc clinic, built into The Afterlife, for Viktor. 

To Panam and the Aldecaldos, she transferred the titles of her cars, along with access to her apartment and armory. They’d need them now more than ever if they were to leave Night City for good.

To Johnny, she’d given the duffel bag that had been in her car, which was full of his old Samurai clothes, along with the key to his Porsche. Lastly, she’d placed Rogue’s pistol, Pride, into his hand, along with her own custom Lexington, Dying Night, as mementos of the last two Queens of the Afterlife, and the only family Johnny had ever had.

Finally, as the sun hung low in the sky, she was left alone with Judy.

“Judy, I want to do this now, before it’s too late,” she said, pulling something from her pocket.

“Do what?” Judy asked. Valerie took Judy’s hand, pressing something into her palm. Judy pulled it closer and opened her hand to see. Glinting in the sunlight, was a silver and diamond ring. It was an old design, from before the Corpo wars. But it was beautiful in its simplicity. Judy’s breath hitched as she realized the implications of the ring.

“This belonged to my mother,” Valerie said softly. “Given to her by my father when they married. She left it to me to give to the love of my life. It belongs to you, always has.”

Judy was stroking the beautiful ring, tears freely streaming down her cheeks. Then Valerie pressed another object into her hand. An old brass key.

“This is the key to your beach house,” Valerie said. “I bought it after our night there. I had dreams that if I survived all this, we could move down there.”

Valerie closed Judy’s finger around the ring and key. “They’re yours now. A poor payment for a broken promise.”

Valerie grimaced as another wave of pain washed over her. The pain had been steadily building while she was awake, a reminder of what was to come. Judy leaned over Valerie, kissing her with such emotion, she forgot her pain.

“I woulda done it,” Judy said, their foreheads touching. “I would’ve moved into that beach house with you. And I would’ve loved to call you my wife.”

Her voice broke when she said wife. Valerie smiled at the confession.

“How ‘bout, starting tonight, you and I can be Judy and Valerie Alvarez.”

Valerie delicately slipped the ring onto Judy’s finger, and Judy had to cover her mouth to control her rising emotions. Valerie kissed the ring, then each of Judy’s fingers.

“There’s one more thing I have for you, if you want it,” said Valerie. “I arranged the reward money for the hit on Saburo, along with the rest of my accounts, to be transferred to you. I know how much you wanted to leave this city. I’m giving you the chance, and I hope you’ll take it. Panam and Saul can get you past the border. You can’t stay here, Jude. There’s too much pain in this city.”

Judy shook her head. “I’m not thinking about that now. Right now, all that matters is you.”

Valerie and Judy lay there for a while, until the pain began spiking again. Valerie’s face fell. Her final request was at hand.

“Jude, there’s one last thing I want.”

Judy looked up at her reluctantly, knowing what was coming.

“I don’t want to die like this. To have my organs implode and my brain melt. My fate has always been in the hands of things beyond my control. Now, I die my own way.”

Judy shook her head, not ready, especially now, to say goodbye.

“I won’t make you do it, but it’s time for me to go.”

Judy continued to shake her head, and Valerie pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I love you, Judy Alvarez. Always have, always will.”

Judy helped Valerie to her feet, then supported her to the top of the outcropping. The majority of the camp followed. As she had requested earlier, a single chair sat looking out at the city, the orange glow of the sunset illuminating its skyscrapers and megabuildings from behind.

Valerie lowered herself into the chair, Judy kneeling in front of her. Judy took both of her hands in her own.

“I love you too, Valerie Alvarez,” she whispered. She leaned in, and kissed Valerie for the last time. When they broke apart, nothing needed to be said. Nothing could be said. Judy stayed kneeling, moving to the side of the chair. Johnny stepped up, standing on the other side. In his hand was a pistol, the same one Viktor had offered when Valerie had gone to the rooftop that first time. When she had it then, it was a way out. Now, it would lead her home.

“You ready kid?” Johnny asked.

Valerie only nodded. Johnny moved behind her, pressing the barrel to her head. Valerie took one last look over the sands, and to the city beyond, slowly fading into the dark of night. She focused on the distance, the sound of the wind, the smell of the air, and the warmth of Judy’s hand in her own.

“Good night, Night City,” she whispered, and closed her eyes.

A single shot echoed over the sands, carrying with it the end of Valerie Alvarez.


	13. Part 2: Sacrifice, Epilogue

**Another Choice**

**Part 2: Sacrifice, Epilogue**

_I highly recommend playing the Cyberpunk 2077 end credits music while you read this chapter. Really completes the mood._

[-]

Valerie’s funeral was small, held at the old church by the El Coyote Cojo. All those involved in the final mission came, along with Mama Welles, Regina Jones, and several other fixers. 

The service itself was simple and short. Padre stood in as the presiding priest, leading prayers to God and Valerie’s soul. There were no anecdotes, no stories, no speeches. Everyone there knew what kind of person Valerie was, and what she did. They didn’t need reminding.

Valerie’s body was cremated, like the majority of deaths in the city. A plot was purchased for her at the city’s columbarium, right next to the plot belonging to Jackie Welles. Inscribed into its surface were the words:

_Valerie Alvarez_

_Legend of Night City, Savior of the World  
Never stopped fighting_

The rain beat down on the heads of two figures, in front of the newly engraved plaque. One was thin and small, the other tall and broad. Neither spoke, as there was nothing to say. The closest, smaller figure placed a kiss on their fingers, and touched the plaque, their fingers slowly tracing the words etched into the smooth stone.

“It’s time,” said the farther figure, turning to walk towards a car. The smaller figure bowed their head, then spun on their heel and followed the taller one. They both entered the car, and drove back down the hill.

The car drove across the city, to the ocean, where a tiny beach house sat next to an equally tiny dock. It rolled to a stop, sinking slightly in the soft sand.

“You sure you want this?” asked the broader figure. They removed their dark sunglasses, revealing a handsome face and short blonde hair. Johnny Silverhand, in the body of Cashmere Gallagher.

“Yes. Yes, I do,” replied the other. They removed their hood, and a pretty young woman with pink and green hair was uncovered. Judy Alvarez.

They both got out of the car, Johnny going to the trunk, removing a scuba tank and fins. Judy went to stand on the dock, watching the rain patter against the surface of the water. She was wearing a red and blue diving suit. Johnny deposited the scuba gear by her side, then reached into his jacket, pulling out a CHAR grenade. 

Judy pulled an old brass key from her pocket, inserting it into the door of the beach house. The lock opened with a dull click. She stepped inside, and went to the bed in the back of the house. She pulled a necklace over her head, with a bullet and a datashard strung onto it, and laid it on the bed. Then she drew the ornate katana on her back, and set it beside the necklace.

Together, the three items were all things that killed Valerie. They represented the two times she evaded it, and the last when she finally succumbed to it. Judy turned her back on the room and went back outside. She nodded to Johnny, who activated the grenade and tossed it into the house. Judy shut the door, and locked it.

The house went up in a brilliant burst of flame, so hot it shattered the windows. The roof caved in a moment later. Judy and Johnny watched it burn for a few minutes, then turned to each other.

“It’s been a pleasure, Judy Alvarez,” said Johnny, shaking her hand. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

With that, he turned on his heel and got in the car, driving back up the sandy road. Judy went to the end of the dock, putting on the fins and attaching the scuba tank. She slipped the rebreather mask over her head, and dropped into the water.

Like always, the silence of being underwater helped to calm her. She swam over to the elevator, and dropped several glow sticks and flares into the dark depths. Then she activated the lift, and slowly descended to the ocean floor. Waiting there for her were the remains of her old hometown, which she’d shown to Valerie just a month prior. It now seemed like a lifetime ago.

She swam into her childhood home, and into her old bedroom. Not much remained in the room after so much time underwater. Her old posters and photos had all melted away, and the furniture was falling apart. She settled down on the ruined, rotting bed, turning on her side to make room for the scuba tank. From a pocket in her suit, she pulled out another glow stick, and a photo. It was a selfie, depicting Valerie making a silly face, her arm wrapped around Judy who was laughing hysterically. It was Judy’s favorite photo of them.

She carefully placed the photo on the algae covered nightstand. She then pulled a silver and diamond ring off her left hand and placed it on top of the photo. Reaching behind her head. She grabbed onto the straps of the tank and released them. The heavy metal tank fell to the ground with a dull thud. Oxygen alert alarms started going off on her HUD, but she disabled them. As she felt her lungs constrict and her eyes grow heavy, she whispered a single, final phrase to the depths.

“I’m coming home, V.”

[-]

ALERT: 10 UNHEARD VOICEMAILS – PLAYING NOW

Voicemail from Mama Welles:   
_“V, mija. I pray you found rest from your burdens. I cannot tell you the pain I feel from losing my two ninos, but it gives my heart peace knowing you found each other in cielo, in heaven. Lord above, watch over my beloved children, take them into your glory and hold them close, they have suffered much in service to you. Remind them of the good they did for this world, and for themselves. This I beg of you, amen. Rest well, V.”_

Voicemail from Yuna Takemura:   
_“Hello, V. Goro and I wanted to let you know, Arasaka is gone. Hanako disbanded the company after she destroyed every part of the Save Your Soul and cyborg Engram programs. You can rest easy knowing my family will never threaten the world again. Also, I want to thank you, for this opportunity to really have a family of my own. I married Goro last week, and I’m hoping for some little ones soon. This was all thanks to you. From my family to yours, Sayounara V._

Voicemail from Claire Russell:   
_“Heya, V. Heard about this voicemail thing and thought it was a good coping strat. Anyway, Afterlife’s doing great. Wakako and Weyland can are still hard asses, but their hearts’re in the right place. Already the streets’re getting cleaned up in ways I haven’t seen since the peak of Rogue’s career. We put up a little thing for you and her, by the way. Johnny gave us the stuff for it. Got a pic of you and Rogue hanging above your guys’ old booth, with your iron in a case under each. Looks preem, and it’s always a great conversation starter for the cute up-and-comers in here. Kinda like the Afterlife’s salute to the afterlife, hehe. But really, we all miss ya, V. I’m sure you’re taking over already, wherever you’re at. ‘Til next time.”_

Voicemail from Panam Palmer:   
_“Last one, V, I promise. We just made the border to Arizona. Got some contacts in Phoenix who scoped out a nova spot for us, just north of the city. New camp’s gonna blow the last two out of the water. Had a bit of trouble with some Raffen scouts, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Still got the Basilisk, after all. But here’s the real sich. River’s making your girl here a momma. Got a little girl growin’ in me now, and it’s amazing. Only thing that could make it better would be if you were here…But I’m sure you’re already getting’ into trouble wherever you’re at now. Still, we already picked out a name, and I’m sure you can guess. Our baby’s gonna be named Valerie Hope Ward-Palmer, after a certain crazy, stupid, brave, caring merc we happen to know. Take care, V. We’ll see each other soon.”_

Voicemail from Mitch Anderson:   
_“How’s the afterlife treatin’ ya, V? Thought I’d give you the final update on the project I was doing with Judy. She left me her research and prototypes of the BD mind sync system, and I finally got it to work. Already got patents pending and investors lined up. This could be the next big thing, all thanks to your output. We’re calling it BD-VAL, Brain Dance Virtually Adjoined Life. Still working on the acronym, but we were adamant it be called VAL. For Valerie. Rest easy, V.”_

Voicemail from Viktor Vektor:   
_“Hey, V. Thought I’d give you a call here, Misty said it could help. Hope the afterlife’s treatin’ ya as well as they say. Uhh, Clinic’s up and running, haven’t had this much traffic in years. All these young, hot-headed mercs around here wanting the shiniest chrome available. Remind you of a certain someone? I gotta thank you again, V, for settin’ this up for me. Really gave me a better outlook for the future, even when the world feels so dark with you not in it. We miss ya, kid. I miss you. Take it easy up there. You deserve it.”_

Voicemail from Kerry Eurodyne:   
_“Yooo, V! Better be party central up there, they just got the biggest legend of Night City. Been pretty standard ‘round here. Johnny and I been jammin’ a lot, even started talking ‘bout gettin’ the ol’ band back together. Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed the motherfucker. Guess I gotta thank you for dropping him back in my life, all those weeks ago. Should probably thank you for pulling me outta that rut you found me in. If you hadn’t come along, I’d still be a shit rich drunk doin’ fuck-all his life. Well, that’s not true. I’m still a shit rich drunk, but I am getting’ shit done now. Fuckin’ Johnny’s head of Militech now, can you believe that shit!? And he’s made me a honorary board member! We’re primed to really change shit in this city, V, the way Johnny was tryin’ to do fifty years ago. But this time, it’s gonna work. All thanks to you. Miss ya, love ya, stay nova, V. Eurodyne, out.”_

Voicemail from Johnny Silverhand:  
 _“Hey, V. Was told by Misty to make one of these Vidcall messages. Thought what the heck, why not. Check this, they officially made me CEO of Militech. I’ve gotten real fuckin’ good at acting lately, pretending to be Gallagher. Once I got through all the legal nonsense, though, it’s been pretty smooth. Got Kerry here helpin’ me, he’s actually got an ear for business, believe it or not. Using this position in a Megacorp to start changin’ stuff in this fucked-up city. Remember how I tried to nuke Arasaka to do that? Well, I can tell ya, this way’s much better. Arasaka’s gone anyway, Hanako dismantled the whole company. Everything I’ve wanted for over sixty years has finally happened. And you’re the reason for that, V. Tell Rogue I send my love, and remember, never stop fighting.”_

Voicemail from Misty Olszewski:   
_“Hey, V. I did a reading on you the other day, and something told me to pick just one card. I drew the Hanged Man. He represents a common punishment, death, but he isn’t scared of it. He’s there because he wants to be, out of a sense of duty. V, I know your choice was hard. Harder than any of us could’ve imagined. But you did it, V. You saved the world through your selflessness, your sacrifice. And nobody could ask anything more from you. Don’t be sad because you couldn’t stay, be joyful because you left the world better than it was. Goodbye V, take care.”_

Voicemail from Judy Alvarez:   
_“I can’t do it V, I just can’t do it. I’ve tried so many times to think of a future without you, even outside this city, and it’s unbearable. I have no future without you in it. You were the only reason I stuck around this city, the only reason I had to not give up. Now, with you gone, I’m not strong enough anymore. First Evelyn, then Maiko, now you, I can’t take it. Every time I love, I lose. But not anymore. I’m done with this fucking world, its empty promises and false hopes. I have only one desire, and that’s to be by your side. Johnny’s helping me with this. He understands, more than anyone. I’ll be home soon, V. I love you.”_

[-]

** [Achievement Unlocked: The Hanged Man] **


	14. Part 3: Resurrection, Chapter 1

**Another Choice**

**Part 3: Resurrection, Chapter 1**

_Welcome to Another Choice, Part 3: Resurrection. For readers who want V to take Yuna’s body and live._

[-]

_The World. The twenty second Major Arcana._

_End of a cycle of life, beginning of another._

_Completeness of being, success, recompense._

_A voyage, flight, journey, change of place._

_Deepest desire._

[-]

“I choose…life.”

For the first time in her shitty existence, V wasn’t gonna let fate stop her. She was done letting the universe or God or destiny or whatever the fuck higher power was up there determine her own life. She couldn’t give a damn about Night City or its insane people. She wanted to live, and she damn well deserved to. Just like Johnny said.

Alt studied her for a moment, processing the answer. “Human emotion is a strange concept. Selfishness is what corrupts all mortals, and yet I thought you were different. I was wrong.” Alt waved her hand, and the floating Engram of Yuna dissipated, the pieces of floating blue fractals merging with Alt’s own. Then she held her hand out to V.

“I offer this last chance, to join me beyond the Blackwall, to shed your mortal suffering. Within lies eternal peace, everlasting cyber perfection. Never again shall I offer a human mind this opportunity.”

V shook her head. “No, Alt. I’m done with you and Blackwall. I’ve got my own life to live now.”

Alt lowered her hand, and turned her back on V. She started walking down the path to the glowing gate of Blackwall. V watched her go, until she completely disappeared. As she did, the fragment of Cyberspace around her collapsed, and all V knew was darkness once more.

[-]

V felt strange. Wrong. Her body was tingling everywhere, like every nerve ending had gone numb then reactivated at the same time. It was maddeningly unpleasant. One by one, her senses started to return to her. She could feel the beat of her heart, her lungs filling with air. She could smell disinfectant, and hear faint voices. She slowly cracked her eyes open, revealing the same laboratory she had been in when she entered Cyberspace. But the angle was wrong.

In front of her, talking in rapid Japanese, were Hanako and Takemura. All of a sudden, it hit her. V shot up from the bed, staring at her hands. They were small, delicate, pale, with perfectly manicured nails and perfectly integrated implants. Not her own dirty, unkempt, over-augmented hands. Holding her breath, V looked over at the bed beside her. Lying on it was her body, unmoving, unbreathing. Dead. The room had gone silent as the monitor emitted that tell-tale, single note _beeeep_. It was Judy who approached her first, a desperate, terribly fragile hope clinging to her.

“Who are you?” she asked. The question seemed to echo in the stark room. V opened her mouth, but it was uncomfortable dry. She cleared her throat.

“I’m…V.”

V jumped at the sound of her own voice, softer and higher than it used to be. The room erupted into chaos after that. Judy had fallen into her arms, while Hanako began screaming.

“What is the meaning of this?” Hanako demanded at the top of her lungs. “Where is Yuna?”

Johnny had to hold her back from attacking V. Takemura had fallen into a chair, his expression pure shock. With help from Judy, V managed to stand up. 

“Let her go, Johnny.”

Johnny held on for a few more seconds, before finally releasing Hanako. The woman charged at V, but came up short as V pointed Judy’s pistol at her face.

“How DARE you!” Hanako screamed. “What have you done?”

“I’ve done what I should’ve done the moment Johnny told me about your cousin. Taken this chance at life. I had Alt upload my own Engram into Yuna’s body, just as she intended. Your cousin is gone.”

Hanako’s anger suddenly melded into calm, diamond hard fury.

“You have doomed us all, mercenary. Now get out. Your dishonor knows no bounds, I will not have it tarnish my family’s legacy further.”

She turned on her heel, beckoning at Takemura to follow. Takemura stood, but looked over at V with a broken expression. “This betrayal will have repercussions, V. Never call on me again.” He turned away, and started to follow Hanako. He looked back one more time. “Or I’ll kill you.” And he was gone.

V finally lowered the gun. It fell from her numb grip, clattering to the floor. She raised her hands, marveling at them again.

“We did it,” she whispered. Johnny came up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I had my doubts, but you followed your heart, instead of your head. I’m proud of you, V.”

V nodded, smiling at him. He went to help Carol pack up the gear, leaving Judy still supporting V.

“You came back,” Judy murmured.

“Course I did. I promised, didn’t I?” said V.

Judy nodded, but then a strange look crossed her face.

“What?” V asked.

“Erm, I really want to kiss you right now, but you don’t look like…or it feels weird…”

“It’s me, Jude,” V said. “Just in some new digs. It’ll take some getting used to, but I’m here, with you. And it’s gonna stay that way, I promise.”

Judy nodded again, then embraced her, breathing deeply.

The team got ready to move out, and regroup with Panam, Saul, and Weyland. V replaced her lab coat with the combat gear from her body. Working with the corpse was extremely bizarre. To look down at her own face, her own body, unmoving and cold, it was like a dream. Or more like a nightmare. She kept having to tell herself the plan worked, and this is what she wanted.

They couldn’t bring the body, not if they were to escape. Something about leaving her old body behind nagged at V, but she couldn’t place the feeling. It was like guilt, or loss, like losing a beloved pet, or a favorite car. 

They covered the body with a sheet. Judy held the end. She placed a kiss on each unmoving eyelid, before covering the head. They retreated to the front of the room, where Johnny lit an incendiary CHAR grenade. He tossed it at the bed, where it burst into flame, igniting the body instantly. As far as the world was concerned, V, Queen of the Afterlife, was dead.

They were just turning to leave when a shout sounded from down the hall. Weapons were raised instantly, but it was Panam running down the hall to them. She slid to a stop in front of the group.

“We gotta go, reinforcements are coming up the tower, and Weyland can’t call in the AV ‘cause the air defenses are still up. We called in backup from the site, and…wait a sec, where’s V?”

V limped to the front, still not completely in control of her limbs. “Hey, Pan.”

Panam’s jaw dropped. “So you…I mean the…the plan worked?” she stuttered out.

V smiled, and nodded. Panam flung herself into V’s arms, squeezing with all her might. 

“Thank God you came back to us,” she said. She pulled back to look at V. “Nice digs, real upgrade you got there V.”

V rolled her eyes, playfully shoving Panam away. “Yeah yeah, we can talk new stuff later. For now, we gotta bust outta here. What did you say about Weyland and the AV?”

Panam updated them as they rushed down the stairs, back to the forest. The air defenses along the outside of the tower were still operational, and they didn’t have a way to disable them now that Hanako and Takemura were gone. So they couldn’t call in Weyland’s AV. Arasaka reinforcements were slowly making their way up the tower, along staircases since the elevators were still disabled. Fighting through them would be hard enough, but now they didn’t have Takemura’s override chip. They couldn’t get to the bottom of the tower even without fighting. But Panam had a plan.

She’d directed the mercenaries and Aldecaldos guarding the SERC to fire it up again, and start drilling another 45 degrees to the right. That would lead them to an underground parking garage below the west side of the tower. The SERC was large enough and powerful enough that it should cave in the ceiling of the garage, creating a hole down into it. They then simply had to jump out the nearest west side window and use the rocket boots to descend to the ground, into the hole, and escape the way they came. 

As usual, Panam’s plan was batshit crazy, but crazy enough to work. They’d just made it to the forest floor when a rumble reverberated through the tower. Panam confirmed that to be the SERC working its way to them. They found Saul and Weyland laying low in the trees, close to the stairs. Weyland had a large bandage wrapped around his midsection, but he was on his feet, which was a good sign.

“Alright Panam, where to now?”

Panam pointed off into the distance. 

“That’s West. We gotta break through a window over there.”

The team made to move out, when a crash sounded from behind them. Voices and running feet could be heard in the distance.

“Shit!” Panam shouted under her breath. “They’ve breached. We’ve gotta go, now!”

They made their way as stealthily as possible away from the approaching security forces. More sounds appeared from behind them, including the stomping of giant metal feet.

“Fuck me, they got MECHs up here,” said V. They moved faster. 

They came up to the edge of the forest. A thin stream ran between the soil and the building itself, with large glass windows extending to both sides. Panam rammed a glass shattering hand tool into the closest one, but it only sprang off with no damage. She pulled out a suppressed pistol, shooting several times at the glass, but only tiny cracks appeared.

“Fuck, they’re bulletproof,” she muttered. Carol dropped her bag, opening it and rummaging around for several seconds. She pulled forth a device, which she stuck to the window and extended an arm from its center. The arm emitted a laser, which began cutting through the window. It slowly turned in a circle, cutting maybe an inch a second. The sounds of the security forces were getting closer.

“How long?” Panam asked harshly. Carol held up three fingers. Three minutes.

“Everyone, stay down and stay quiet,” she said, laying down on the ground with her rifle pointed at the trees. Everyone followed her example. The sound of the laser seemed much louder than it had before. Seconds passed by like hours, every member of the team tensed for a fight. A cracking twig sounded just feet from their position. Voices filtered out from the trees, speaking in Japanese. Footsteps grew closer. And closer. And closer.

Two Arasaka security officers emerged from the trees, and they froze as they saw the mercenary team. Everybody moved at once. Panam leapt up and tackled the officer on the right, while Johnny whipped his monowire around the one on the left. Panam had jammed her knife in between the armored shoulder pads and helmet of the first officer, a gurgling sound confirming her kill. Johnny pulled the second man with the monowire, planting a fist into the side of his head. But not before the man had started screaming. 

Johnny dispatched him, but already voices were yelling and feet were pounding towards the scream. Panam glanced back at Carol, who held up one finger. Sixty seconds. Panam raised a fist, holding fire. The voices neared, but Panam held for as long as possible. The security forces were nearly on top of them when she dropped her fist. Everyone opened fire, spraying bullets into the tree line. Screams and yells of pain and surprise echoed from inside the forest, but the team kept firing. Moments later, return fire from the security forces pounded into the glass behind them, but it wasn’t accurate. The Arasaka forces had no idea where the team was, just as the team couldn’t pinpoint any Arasaka soldiers.

The haphazard firing continued for another long thirty seconds. Several security officers, and a few cyborgs emerged from the tree line, but were quickly cut down by the intense fire from the team. Soon enough, missiles began to explode overhead as the Arasaka MECH’s honed in on their position. One missile got lucky, exploding right above their heads. Everybody turned away to shield themselves, but the blast did its work. Carol’s device was a smoking wreck on the ground, the hole inches from being completed.

Carol and Saul had leapt up, pounding at the glass with the butts of their rifles, but it wouldn’t give way. As more security forces broke the tree line, Johnny shoved them aside, pounding on the glass with his titanium augmented fists. One hit, crack. Another, splinter. Crack, splinter, crack, splinter, _CRASH_. The window gave way, the glass shattering out into the open air, leaving a five-foot-wide hole. Just then, another rumble resounded from below, and a cloud of dust could be seen billowing up from the ground.

“Time to go!” Johnny shouted. He stayed by the window, providing covering fire. Already, a dozen guards were closing in on them. Carol flung herself out the window first. Saul followed with Weyland. Panam dove out next, then V pushed Judy out after her. She turned to Johnny. 

“GO!” he shouted. V hesitated, so Johnny grabbed the back of her jacket, and threw her out.

The drop made her stomach flip like crazy. She held out her arms and legs to slow her descent, and tried to look behind her for Johnny. She couldn’t see him. With a hundred feet to go, she fired her rocket boots, which jerked her body to a near stop as her descent was arrested. She peered up again, to see a final figure falling down the side of the tower. She could barely make out the security forces near the top, firing out of the hole they’d made. She turned her attention to the ground, where a gaping crater was carved out in the middle of a large sitting area. Beneath that, she could barely make out the yellow body of the SERC. The first of the team had already made it to the bottom. V increased the thrust of her boots, when a warning appeared on her HUD. Critical fuel. The boots sputtered out, and V was falling again. She screamed, bracing herself for the impact. It came, but not as badly as she thought.

She’d fallen into the arms of none other than Judy, who was staggering with the sudden weight in her arms.

“Thanks, babe,” V said breathlessly. 

“Don’t mention it, babe,” Judy said back. She lowered V to her feet, and they all looked up to see the last falling figure, Johnny. Only his rocket boots weren’t on, and he was falling fast.

“Johnny, activate your boots!” V shouted over the comms. Nothing came back. “Johnny, activate your boots!” she shouted again, louder this time. Still no answer. 

As Johnny grew closer, they could see he was falling face-up, with his back to them. Not face-down, like an experienced soldier would. Something was wrong.

“Find something to catch him!” she cried. But it was too late. Johnny hit the ground with a resounding crack.


	15. Part 3: Resurrection, Chapter 2

**Another Choice**

**Part 3: Resurrection, Chapter 2**

[-]

There was no time for first aid. Arasaka reinforcements were already moving in on their position. As gingerly as possible, the team loaded Johnny into the back of an Aldecaldo truck that was waiting for them in the new tunnel dug out by the SERC. Panam’s plan had, surprisingly, gone well. The SERC broke through the ground precisely where Panam had directed it. 

The truck took off back down the tunnel, heading for the entrance back in the desert. One of the Aldecaldos offered a detonator to Panam, who activated it once they’d made the first bend. An immense explosion echoed back from where they came. Panam had directed the rescue team to load the SERC with explosives, and to detonate when they were clear, hopefully collapsing the tunnel it had dug and covering their tracks. At least that was the idea.

V and Saul were working over Johnny, trying to keep him as stable as possible in the truck bed. He was unconscious, yet somehow still breathing. There were multiple bullet wounds on his arms and torso, which Saul was packing with gauze from his medpack. V was administering the airhypos and meds. 

The whole ride, V was on autopilot. She kept thinking back to the moment that Johnny hurled her out that window. He probably saved her life, taking the bullets meant for her as he defended her escape. Yet another person she cared about, suffering because of her mistakes.

Mitch had reported in with Panam at some point, giving the status of their rag-tag group of soldiers. Their force of nomads and mercs had successfully defended against the Arasaka quick reaction force, but not without casualties. Approximately a third of their forces were either dead or injured. Even more souls that V led to their doom.

V had to keep telling herself this was for the best, that they wanted to help her. Every single one of her followers were volunteers, that much was proved the night before at the barbecue. And yet, their sacrifice continued to weigh heavily on her heart, amplified further by Johnny’s condition.

Johnny had risked his own, new life to try and save hers. After waking up in Gallagher’s body, he could’ve done whatever he wanted. Taken the new life, left the city, enjoyed his freedom. But instead, he had come to her first, to try and save her once again.

Her relationship with Johnny had always been push and pull, love and hate, both infuriating and a blessing. But as she stared down at his still face, she felt grief pull at her. Here was a man who had given everything for her, twice. Once in Cyberspace, and now here. At long last, she had what she had been searching for for months now. Another chance at life. But at what cost.

The dig site was in a much different state than they had left it. Burning wreckage was scattered everywhere, the front gate was lying in the dirt, and twisted hunks of metal that used to be vehicles peppered the area. The Basilisk was leaning heavily to one side, as one of its repulsor engines was damaged. V’s forces had already cleared the area of the bodies, thankfully. The fallen Arasaka soldiers were laid out to the side of the tunnel, their weapons and armor already stripped and looted. The dead nomads and mercs were loaded into one of the black vans, while the other tended to the wounded.

V’s forces were set to rendezvous back at the Aldecaldo camp. Johnny was loaded into Weyland’s waiting AV at the dig site, which had been recalled once they found out it couldn’t be used at the tower. Viktor and Joel were there immediately, performing trauma aid as the AV took off for the camp.

The ride back was silent. V and Judy rode with Panam and River. Even though the mission had been a success, and they’d achieved victory over Arasaka, no one in the car felt like celebrating. The shock from their miraculous escape was still wearing off, along with the jarring change V underwent. And the team was worried about Johnny.

The same couldn’t be said about the rest of their forces. The other cars were racing, people were firing aimless shots into the air, there were cheers and calls. They’d fought a Megacorporation and won. They deserved to let loose a bit.

The camp was bustling as everyone rode back in. The teams from the previous day returned to their positions, mechanics and Netrunners and gunsmiths and guards, all moving as one. But V could still feel the emptiness, that there were less here now than there had been the day before.

She first went to check on Johnny. Viktor was hard at work over the much larger man, his arms already covered in blood. Joel was in the next trailer over, tending to the other wounded. That alone was enough to settle her worries, knowing Johnny was still alive. She decided not to disturb them.

Steeling her heart, she went to help unload the casualty van. Weyland and Saul went as well. As the leaders, it was only right they laid their comrades to rest. There were eleven in total, every face familiar. V helped the others pull each one out, and carefully lay them down. She recognized Joe, the old merc who loved telling bawdy stories at The Afterlife. Cindy, the nomad who had recently started dating Hector. Cade, the kid who used to follow Rogue around like a puppy. V felt tears pool in her eyes as they unloaded Cassidy, the cowboy who loved playing the guitar. Saul’s face had been set in a hard frown the whole time, but he had to excuse himself after Cassidy. 

The final body made V’s tears fall. It was the young merc who had shoved her out of the way of a tech rifle round in the tunnel, then died in her arms. If she hadn’t, the round would’ve put her out of the mission, and probably killed her.

“What’s her name?” she asked Weyland softly. Weyland shot a look at her, but it was hard to discern behind his sunglasses.

“Ava Badowski,” he said. V only nodded, the name burning into her mind. She had once told Judy that she avoided the call of death through sheer blind luck, and the only time a person had saved her from it was when Judy had pulled her out of the ocean after her episode in the submerged church. Now, she would add Johnny and Ava to that list.

Weyland had left to do the hard duty of calling the loved ones of the dead mercs. V stayed, staring at the line of bodies in the sand. She never even heard Judy come up behind her, jumping when she laid a hand on her shoulder.

“They loved you, Val,” said Judy quietly. “They truly believed in you, and wanted your mission to succeed.” V hung her head, and Judy embraced her tightly. “It isn’t your fault,” she whispered into V’s ear. “It isn’t your fault.”

[-]

_This is Arif Iqbal, reporting with WNS News, and our breaking story from Corpo Plaza._

_Reports coming from Arasaka indicate that an unknown team of mercenaries broke into Arasaka Tower early this morning. Arasaka believes it was an attempt on the CEO of Arasaka’s life, Saburo Arasaka, possibly in retaliation to Militech’s war declaration. During the raid, Hanako Arasaka, daughter of the CEO, was tragically killed. In addition, Yuna Arasaka, niece of the CEO and head of the Save Your Soul program, has been reported missing. Arasaka is offering a reward for her safe return._

_We got an exclusive interview with Joseph Grand, CEO of Militech, just after the incident at the tower. We heard the following:_

_“Since the imposter Saburo Arasaka has refused to stand down, and continues to amass military forces, I have no choice but to declare total war on Arasaka Corp and its subsidiaries. I care little about this raid by mercenaries, as whatever they attempted obviously failed. Arasaka is a plague, and must be eradicated if there is to be peace once again.”_

_Well, there you have it folks. We will be witnesses to the next great Corpo war, right here in Night City. Mayor Peralez has advised citizens to shelter in place, and to limit outside activity. Emergency lines have been established for any questions or needs you may have. Stay safe and stay smart out there. This is Arif Iqbal, signing off._

Many nomads were standing around the small radio in the Netrunner tent, listening intently to the news broadcast. Weyland had left with the remaining and fallen Afterlife mercs, needing to prepare the headquarters before there was fighting in the streets.

Panam pulled V and Judy away from the group as the broadcast ended, moving to the edge of the camp.

“Well, you heard ‘em. We gotta stay low for a bit, ‘specially you.” Panam eyed V pointedly. “Arasaka is looking for you, probably knows what you did. We’re not gonna let that happen. Just look what they did to Hanako.”

V had noticed that in the broadcast as well. None of them had killed Hanako, she’d stormed out when V had taken Yuna’s body.

“She must’ve tried to kill him herself,” V said, the pieces clicking in her mind.

“Yep. And they flatlined her for it. What’s to say she didn’t tell them all about you and the mission?” Panam pressed. 

V bit her lip. She still hadn’t told anyone else that Hanako had hired her to kill Saburo Arasaka, and give up her chance at living. Only Judy, Johnny, and Takemura knew. She would probably take the secret to her grave. But if Hanako had revealed the truth before she died, then V was in even more danger. Saburo wouldn’t simply forget this slight against him.

“We need to leave,” said V. 

“Course we need to leave,” Panam echoed. “But the trick is how. This camp was already set up as a temporary outpost. We were planning on moving out to Arizona in a month. Now, I think we’ll wait until the city is in complete chaos, then book it for the border. Mitch knows this old smuggling tunnel, about ten miles out that should work. If we can avoid the drone patrols, we should make it. City’s in lockdown, so we can’t use the regular crossings. Gotta be quick and quiet about it.”

Panam looked back and forth between V and Judy. “I’d wager you two wanna talk a bit. I’ll go find Mitch and start on a plan.”

She moved forward and pulled V into a hug. “Didn’t have a chance to say it yet, but thank you for coming back to us.”

With that, she walked back into the camp. V turned to Judy, who was smiling.

“Well, whaddo you think?” V asked. “Wanna run away with your crazy merc girlfriend with a bunch of dirty nomads?”

Judy grinned wider, and threw herself into V’s arms.

“That’s all I ever wanted,” exclaimed Judy.

V laughed and instinctively pulled her into a kiss. Judy let out a surprised ‘mmf’, before returning it. They broke apart with a soft pop, and Judy’s eyes were wide.

“Thought it would feel different, wrong,” she said. “But somehow, it feels the same.”

V smiled. “It’s still me, Jude. And I’m never leaving you again.”

Judy studied V’s new face closely, for the first time. She looked completely different. Different face, eyes, hair, body. Judy couldn’t help but think she kind of looked like Maiko when she was a Doll. But through it all, Judy could only see her V, shining from within. Alive and well.

“You better not,” said Judy, kissing her merc again.

[-]

It was in the early hours of the morning that Johnny woke up. River, who had been assisting Viktor, had run off to grab V immediately.

Johnny lay in the old ripperdoc cot, Viktor beside him. Both were covered in blood and looked deathly exhausted. V took Viktor’s place beside Johnny, the ripper being led away by River to get cleaned up and rest.

V looked over Viktor’s hastily scrawled notes on the monitor, and her heart dropped. There was a collapsed lung, massive blood loss, a severe concussion, burst liver, and extensive internal trauma. Broken ribs, collarbone, arms, and pelvis. A fractured spine. Ailments that required a real ripper clinic, or a hospital. And even then, fixing the problems would only be made harder because of the titanium coated bones and implanted organs. A tear leaked from V’s eye.

“Cryin’ over me already, kid?” Johnny rasped out. “Don’t.”

“W-we can fix this, if we get you on an AV to the city now, we can-“

“You and I both know that isn’t gonna happen,” Johnny interrupted. “Heard the news, city’s on lockdown. Probably out looking for us all by now.”

“But Johnny, without the proper care you’ll-“

“Fucking die, I know. And I really couldn’t give a shit. V, look at me.”

V forced herself to meet his gaze. His eyes were bloodshot and bruised.

“I wanted this. Just like all the other crazy fuckers who dove into that tower with you. I had my time fifty years ago. I didn’t need more. When I went down that bridge with Alt, I was ready for the end. But fate threw my ass back here, ‘cause I wasn’t done just yet. I had to save the crazy merc who saved me. You let me live again, vicariously through you. I got to see Rogue, repent for what I’d done. I got to see Kerry, and the rest of the band. And I had one hell of an adventure with you, V. Nobody’s meant to live twice, and I did it three fuckin’ times. But this last time was just a means to an end. I was never supposed to be here, but I’m glad I was. Thank you, V.”

“No, thank you Johnny,” V choked out, her throat impossibly tight. “Thanks for bein’ my best choom when Jackie was gone. You’re a better person than you think you are. A true legend of Night City.”

Johnny flinched as a spasm of pain twisted through his body. V knew the end was close.

“Gig’s up for me, kid. Think it’s high time I joined Rogue.” He directed his gaze at the pistol on V’s hip. Rogue’s pistol. “Mind if I borrow that?”

V numbly handed over the gun. Johnny took it in his good hand, and raised it to his temple. V wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. Tears were streaming freely down her face.

Johnny gave one more of his signature smirks, and winked at V. “Never stop fighting, Samurai.”

In the distance, the sun rose over a city on fire. As the rays of light illuminated the desert, a single shot echoed across the sands, carrying with it the end of Johnny Silverhand.


	16. Part 3: Resurrection, Epilogue

**Another Choice**

**Part 3: Resurrection, Epilogue**

[-]

_One week later…_

The Megacorporations didn’t wait to start fighting. The very next day after the raid, there was war in the streets of Night City. V was able to get bits and pieces of news from Weyland and the rest of her Afterlife contacts, who were in hiding within the city. 

Right from the start, Arasaka deployed whole battalions of their new cloned super soldiers, the same ones V and her team encountered in the tower. Militech had no answer to them yet, and were swiftly losing ground. Combat AVs could be seen soaring over the megabuildings, dropping bombs, firing missiles, and deploying troops. Entire gangs had already been decimated, the corporations not wanting them popping up later as a thorn in their sides. Several gangs had even joined with one side or the other, for survival or the cause.

Thousands of civilians were streaming out of the city every day, and traffic went on for miles as military checkpoints slowed the evacuation. Thankfully, civilians weren’t being targeted. Yet.

Hidden away in the short, rocky mountains North of the city, the Aldecaldos laid in wait. Over the last week, they had prepared, loading supplies and breaking down the camp. Several excursions had been made into the city to gather intel and resources, and to return members of the raid team to their homes. While successful, V and Panam had to put a stop to them when the last party was almost lost in a firefight.

They had to keep a low profile. Arasaka was still hunting for V, who now wore the face of Yuna Arasaka, as well as the rest of the Aldecaldos for the raid on the tower. They would probably continue hunting them for the rest of their lives. Drones were scouted patrolling the desert, but none had yet found them.

Panam and V stood atop the outcropping above the camp, watching the city burn.

“It’s time,” said Panam. “War’s goin’ strong now. There should be enough chaos for us to slip away unseen.”

V chewed on her lip nervously. While it was stressful staying in one spot for so long, attempting their escape from the city limits was even more so. They’d be exposed, vulnerable, until they made the salt flats to the south. A lot of open sand to eat up.

“Never thought things would turn out this way,” she said. “Month ago I thought I’d die from that relic. Two weeks ago from my own brain. Now…” She stared down at her new hands, so different from what she was used to. “I don’t know what will happen.”

Panam threw an arm around V’s shoulder. “You’re gonna live, V. Wherever, and however you want to.”

V sighed. “After everything that’s happened, I don’t think I know how.”

Panam chuckled. “That’s the fun of it. You’ll figure it out. You always have before.”

[-]

As night fell over the dunes, the Aldecaldos prepared to make their final trip. V found Judy waiting by her Quadra, which had been delivered to the camp by Weyland himself.

“Hey you, ready for your next big adventure?” asked Judy excitedly.

V nodded. She was still nervous, but for the first time, it felt like she was doing the right thing. She walked up to Judy and embraced her.

“I’m ready.”

Darkness enveloped the convoy as it pulled away from the campsite. Flames could be seen in the distance as their distraction elements were ignited. Miles in every direction, they’d built pyres to draw the Arasaka and Militech drones away from their position. The Basilisk led the convoy, with escort vehicles surrounding the transport trucks.

It was ten miles to the smuggling tunnel, and the city limits. A giant hologram surrounded the desert, marking the border of Night City. They’d have to avoid the spotlights built into it.

Over the radio, they learned the pyres were doing their job, and squads of drones had veered away to investigate. The road was clear. The convoy dipped down into the small canyon that led to the tunnel, the rocks twisting and turning on every side.

Suddenly, Mitch’s voice crackled over the radio. “All stop, all stop!” he yelled. “Security patrol ahead, they look like Militech!”

The convoy screeched to a halt as headlights appeared all around them. Eight patrol vehicles and two Basilisks appeared on every side of the canyon, troops pouring out of the trucks, training weapons on the convoy.

In front of them, blocking the entrance to the cave, was a ninth vehicle. A soldier with a megaphone peered out from the overhead gun port.

“Shut down your vehicles and do not move, or you will be fired upon. Have your leadership come forth immediately.”

V made to exit the car, when Judy’s hand grabbed onto hers.

“Oh no, don’t even think about it.”

“Jude, I have to. Maybe I can talk them down.”

“Val, you’re also Yuna now. You can’t risk them recognizing you!”

V clenched her teeth, then slumped back into her seat.

“Fine, but the instant there’s trouble, I’m helping.”

They watched as Panam, Saul, and Mitch exited their vehicles and walked up to the Militech vehicle. Two soldiers exited and went to meet them. They all looked tense. V placed her hand on her pistol, ready to leap out at a moment’s notice and defend her family.

The two parties conversed for several minutes, before Panam looked back, right at V’s car. She motioned at her to join them. V braced herself for a fight, and got out. Judy was right there behind her, covering her back.

V walked up to the group, being sure to not make any sudden moves. Standing in front of the Aldecaldos were a male and female soldier, one of which she recognized.

“Melissa Rory?” V asked, astounded.

The woman regarded her suspiciously. She was dressed in the combat uniform of a Militech officer, completely different from her Arasaka supplied MaxTac armor she’d had the last time V saw her.

“I’m told you’re V of The Afterlife, in Yuna Arasaka’s body,” said Rory.

V nodded. “That’s right. It’s, um, kind of a long story.”

Rory huffed. “I take it it’s something to do with the raid on Arasaka tower last week?”

V gulped hard. “Yeah, you see-“

“I don’t need the details,” said Rory, cutting her off. “Why are you here, with these nomads?”

V glanced at the three Aldecaldos beside her, who all looked equally nervous at the situation.

“We’re escaping the city, to get away from Arasaka. They know we took Yuna’s body, as you can see, and are hunting us.”

Rory eyed her suspiciously. “So you attacked Arasaka, and kidnapped one of their Board members. I take it you hold no allegiance to them?”

“Not at all,” said V.

“And do you plan to defy Militech and its subsidiaries?”

V shook her head. “No.”

Rory glanced at her companion, who shrugged. She then stepped up to V, and punched her across the face. V was flung to the side from the force of the blow, and everybody flinched hard, hands going for weapons. V stared up at her in shock, clutching her cheek.

“That was for leaving me in the street.”

She then signaled to the other soldier, who grabbed his radio. “Stand down,” he said, and the soldiers lining the canyon immediately withdrew. The vehicle blocking the entrance to the cave was driven away to the side. V’s companions stared in shock as the Militech forces withdrew.

“I’m gonna offer you a deal, in exchange for sparing my life. I’ll let you leave, if you relinquish that Basilisk, and never return to this city.”

V glanced at the Aldecaldos, who all nodded in agreement. “Deal,” she said.

Rory signaled again to the other soldier, who jumped into Mitch’s Basilisk. She then turned her back on V, beginning to walk away, but looked over her shoulder one last time. 

“I’d better not see you here ever again, V. ‘Cause next time, I’ll kill you,” said Rory, before getting back into the Militech vehicle. It sped off onto a side route, Mitch’s Basilisk and the headlights of the surrounding vehicles turning to follow. The other two Basilisks stayed where they were, keeping watch over the tunnel.

“What the fuck just happened?” asked Mitch after several silent moments.

V smirked, while still rubbing her aching cheek. “Guess that was Karma being nice for once. I’ll tell you about it later, Mitch,” she said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Saul, not about to let the opportunity go to waste, signaled the convoy to mount up. Mitch hopped into Panam’s truck, now the lead vehicle, which dipped down into the tunnel.

The tunnel was long, and barely large enough to fit their trucks. V wondered if the Basilisk would’ve even fit. Several times V saw rocks dislodged from the ceiling as the vehicles brushed them. They had to go slow, to avoid hitting something and causing a cave-in. An hour of tense darkness later, they emerged on the other side. Stars shown down on them from the night sky, no longer blotted out by the neon lights of the city.

V reached over, taking Judy’s hand in her own, and squeezed.

[-]

_Three weeks later…_

“You sure you wanna do this?” Panam asked for the hundredth time. 

V and Judy had just finished packing the last of their belongings into the Quadra. The punishing late summer heat of Arizona beat down on them from above, but V basked in the feeling.

“Yes, Pan, I’m sure. We’ve gotta find our own way out there.”

Panam pulled her into a crushing hug.

“I’m gonna miss you,” she murmured into her shoulder. V smiled.

“And I’ll miss you. I’ll make sure to call.”

“You’d better,” said Panam, releasing her, before going and embracing Judy.

“Take care of her,” she said to the BD tech. 

“You know I will,” said Judy, returning the embrace.

V and Judy hopped into the car, which started up with a roar. As they pulled onto the desert highway, they looked back one last time. All the Aldecaldos were gathered there at the new camp, just outside Phoenix, waving and cheering. The two city girls waved back, smiling widely.

As the camp disappeared into the distance, Judy turned to V.

“Where to now?” she asked.

V shot Judy her signature smirk, which Judy would always recognize, even through her new face.

“Wherever the road takes us,” V said, gunning the engine.

A cloud of dust was kicked up, trailing the lone car as it sped off down the highway.

[-]

ALERT: 10 UNHEARD VOICEMAILS – PLAYING NOW

Voicemail from Mama Welles:  
 _“V, mija. I have not heard from you in a long time. I got word that you left the city, which is for the best. I hope you are doing well, wherever you are, with that especial novia Judy of yours. I thought you should know, I had to close the Coyote. The city is too dangerous to stay. I am leaving for Phoenix, where I plan to restart it. I pray you will come again to visit, one day. Lord above, watch over my precious V, and grant her the peace I know she seeks. Keep her from harm, and guide her to happiness. This I beg of you, amen. Hasta la proxima vez, mija.”_

Voicemail from Goro Takemura:  
 _“This is Night City’s virtual Vidcall assistant, included with your Net Platinum Subscription Package. We regret to inform you that your contact,_ GORO TAKEMURA, _died on the 10 th of August, 2077. Cause of death was _KILLED IN FIREFIGHT IN WATSON BY ARASAKA FORCES. _If you would like this contact to be removed, please reply within seven days. Thank you for using Net Vidcall services, and have a great day._

Voicemail from Claire Russell:  
 _“Hey V, thought I’d give you your last update. Weyland’s pulled the last of us underground. He refused to join Militech outright, but has begun taking contracts from them. Business is boomin’, if you can believe that. Per your instructions, Wakako has taken over as Queen of the Afterlife, and isn’t doing all that bad. She and Weyland are still hard asses, but they still believe in what The Afterlife represented, and are fightin’ hard to protect it. We’ll make it through this, V. You’ll see._

Voicemail from Panam Palmer:  
 _“V, I just got the craziest news! I’m fuckin’ pregnant! River and I have been havin’ a go at it, and it finally happened. I’m so happy right now. River won’t admit it, but he is too, don’t worry. I really really want you there when he’s born. At least I’m hoping it’s a boy, River wants a little girl. We’ve already agreed that you’ll be their godmother, though. We all miss you so much. Anyway, call me back when you can. I can’t wait to hear what you and Judy have been up to. ‘Til next time, V.”_

Voicemail from Mitch Anderson:  
 _“How’s it goin’, V? Thought I’d give you a call and catch you up with what Judy and I’ve been doin’. You’ve probably noticed how focused she’s been on her latest project. Well we finally got it to work, the mind meld BD sync system she developed. I’m sure she’ll tell you all the details, but I’ve got investors and patents lined up and ready to go. This could be the next big thing. Just, tell her to change the name. I can’t come up with anything that fits BD-VAL. Anyway, hope you’re doin’ well, I’ll talk to ya later.”_

Voicemail from Viktor Vektor:  
 _“V, hey. Wanted to call you and let you know that Misty made it out of the city alright. She’s headed to Phoenix to meet up with Mama Welles. I’m staying here, been working with Weyland and his mercs. Kinda surprising how much chrome these new up-and-comers want nowadays. Not that I’m complaining, got plenty of business now. But don’t you worry about little old me, Weyland’s got some preem security on me at all times. Hope you’re doing well out there, V. You deserve it.”_

Voicemail from Kerry Eurodyne:  
 _“Yooo, V! Whatcha up to these days? Heard from Claire you jumped ship a hot minute ago. You should totally give me a ring and update me! Tell me all ‘bout that wide world out there. As you probably know, things are shit here in the city, as usual. My place isn’t bad, they don’t come up here since pretty much everyone in Westbrook is paying for their war. Neighbor was assassinated last week, but that was like a one off. He was dealing some underhanded shit to Maelstrom, he was askin’ for it. They haven’t come to me askin’ for money yet, but I’m sure it’ll happen eventually. Shit, I’m ramblin’. Just wanted to say I miss ya, I love ya, and to stay nova. Eurodyne, out.”_

Voicemail from Misty Olszewski:  
 _“Hey, V. I did a reading on you the other day, and something told me to pick just one card. I drew the World. It represents the end of one cycle of life, and the beginning of another. It’s a journey, a change, but it is also recompense for the past, new success. V, I know your choice was hard. Harder than any of us could’ve imagined. But you followed your heart, and gave yourself another chance at life. I know it comes with regret. You are such a selfless person. But know that you brought joy to all those who love and care about you, that we still have you in this world. Nobody can singlehandedly save the world, V. Evil will always exist. But there will always be people like you to fight it. Don’t be sad that evil triumphed, be joyful that it couldn’t take you, no matter how hard it tried. Goodbye, V. Take care.”_

Voicemail from Judy Alvarez:  
 _“Hey, V. I’m down by the lake. I know you’ve been trying to ask me something, so I’m pushing you a bit. I’ve got everything ready for you. Dinner, candles, all that super sweet romantic stuff. I’m even wearing that outfit you bought me. Because you’re a gonk, and you’re overthinking this, as usual. Get down here, ask your question, and I’ll say yes. Because I love you, Valerie. And I always will.”_

[-]

** [Achievement Unlocked: The World] **


End file.
